


Eternity

by ace_writergirl



Series: Eternity [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:55:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 51,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27659830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ace_writergirl/pseuds/ace_writergirl
Summary: Yang Xiao Long is a captain in Vale's army. King James Ironwood is sending her on a dangerous mission after discovery of Yang's betrayal. An immortal beast lays in wait for Yang as she attempts to rescue missing people from the kingdom, rumoured to have settled in the middle of the forest under no rule. The more Yang learns about Vale and King Ironwood, the more she wonders if the missing people had the right idea, immortal beast or no.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Series: Eternity [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022517
Comments: 34
Kudos: 124
Collections: Bumbleby Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My contribution to the Bumbleby Bog Bang 2020! This idea has been floating around in my head for ages so I'm glad I was able to put it to paper, so to speak :)  
> The incredible General Xiao Long has created the most wonderful artwork to pair along with this story:  
> I hope you enjoy!

The forest was quiet. Some might say too quiet, edging on the anticipation of something about to happen.

There!

A blur.

Was it a blur? What could move that fast and remain silent? Was it even a what? Could it be a who?

Perhaps a Faunus?

There again!

Dammit. Too quick.

There was something out there. What was it looking for?

The quiet became suddenly eerie, a tension creeping into the spaces between the trees. Something was about to happen, but what?

The bleat of a goat was cut short, and not by the sound of the herd dispersing quickly.

The little boy playing out front gripped his toy horse and grew fearful. His father had warned him about staying out too long when he couldn’t see the sun anymore but he’d lost track of time.

“Elijah!”

He whirled around.

“Don’t be a fool, boy! Come inside!” his mother hissed, gesturing quickly.

Elijah didn’t need a second invitation and dove into the warmth and safety of his home.

His father glanced outside. “I think they took one.”

“Well, best one every month and keeping our home safe,” his mother replied, heading to the kitchen table.

“Too true,” his father murmured.

“Come away from the window, Oz. We know they won’t hurt us ordinarily, but you know what happens with the monthly moon. It’s best not to tempt fate.”

“Of course.” He walked up to his wife and kissed her temple. He grinned at Elijah. “Your mother always keeps me safe.”

“Oh, hush,” she muttered.

“You do, though. My curiosity has almost gotten me nabbed at least three times since Lady Belladonna moved to the forest.”

“That’s only because you think that you’re an Immortal,” she teased, ruffling his hair.

Oz sighed. “Wouldn’t that be something, to be an Immortal.”

“I think it’d be rather lonely,” she murmured, setting out the plates. “Elijah, go and wash up, please.”

He was quick to obey and heard a final comment before disappearing into the bathroom, “Who would want to live forever without someone to share your life with?”

* * *

Yang Xiao Long slid off her saddle and breathed a sigh of relief at the feeling of solid ground beneath her feet. She raised her arms and stretched them to the sky, rotating her hips and hearing a satisfying crack as her bones re-adjusted themselves after the long ride back to the castle. Next to her, her horse rolled her head in anticipation of being back in familiar surroundings, her black hair catching the gentle breeze.

“You think you’re a goddamn model, you show-off,” Yang teased.

“Captain! You’re back!”

Yang turned around and waved at two of the Faunus stable hands, a smile creeping onto her face. They ran up to her and hugged her legs. They were still very young and Yang took care to treat them as equals, even though the rest of the kingdom tended to look on them as inferior beings.

“Hey, kids!” she greeted, ruffling the tufts of hair between their ears.

The elder scoffed. “We’re not kids. We’re almost eight.”

Yang chuckled. “You’re literally goat Faunus. It’s not an insult, I promise.”

Both kids beamed up at her.

“Did you bring us anything?”

“You mean other than Bumblebee, who is just dying for some tender love and care from her two favourite stable hands?”

Bumblebee huffed at hearing her name and Yang patted her neck affectionately.

“Aw, no presents?”

The matching pouts were always going to wear Yang down and they all knew it.

“Fine, you tricksters.” She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out two wrapped items. “Wait until you get back to the stable to unwrap those, okay? I can’t have everyone knowing you’re my favourites.”

“Thanks, Captain Xiao Long!” they chorused, doing a twin salute and guiding Bumblebee back towards the stables.

Yang grabbed her satchel out of the saddlebag before the twins were out of reach. She trusted that they wouldn’t go through her belongings. Three years ago, she’d taken them under her wing after their father, a soldier in the king’s army, had been killed in an attack on the outskirts of the kingdom. She hadn’t been present but had heard the first-hand report from the king herself. It had been an ambush and only the one casualty. Their mother had died in childbirth so Yang made sure that the stable master was paid a caretaker fee for the twins. While they knew that they were orphans, it didn’t seem to bother them too much. They worked hard and were respectful. Because Yang had taken a personal interest in them, no one dared mess with them, even though they were Faunus.

Breaking out of her reverie, Yang slid her satchel over her shoulder and climbed the stairs up to the castle entrance. As she walked, people called out greetings and she replied in kind with a genuine smile. She was well-liked in the Kingdom of Vale. Her captaincy in the king’s army had been well-earned and she was given the due respect.

While Yang was a soldier through and through, she was also an adventurer. She loved travelling all over Remnant and vowed to visit every part of the world before her time was up. She’d made the trip to Vacuo and back multiple times and was originally from Patch so she was very familiar with Sanus. She was desperate to visit Anima and Menagerie. She’d heard enticing stories of how different and exciting it was. As yet, nothing had pulled her in that direction.

“Yang! You’re back!”

As she reached the top of the stairs, Yang grinned at the blur of red and readied herself for her sister’s hug. It packed a punch. Literally. She’d had many years of practice to prepare herself, though. Her breath was knocked out of her slightly as her sister’s arms wrapped around her waist and squeezed tightly.

“Holy shit. Ruby! Ruby!” she gasped. Had her sister somehow gotten stronger in the weeks she’d been away?

“Oh, sorry! I forgot I had them on!”

Yang winced at the tender feeling across her ribs, fairly certain that she’d have a bruise there the following day.

“What does Pietro have you working on now?” she asked, standing up straight.

Ruby Rose grinned widely and it was too infectious for Yang not to match it. Ruby held up her arms and Yang’s eyes widened.

“Whoa,” she breathed. “This is so cool!”

“I know, right! We haven’t quite worked out the intricacies of combining Dust into the gauntlets, but it has four firing types and space for copious amounts of reserve Dust. This baby can go for hours.”

Yang swallowed her snort. Her sister was so innocent that unintentional innuendos were a common occurrence and Yang didn’t have the heart to corrupt that innocence.

“Is this just a prototype?” she asked.

“Yeah, Pietro and I have been working on it pretty much since you left. We thought maybe you’d like to give it a test run?”

Yang’s eyes lit up. “You bet I would!”

Ruby giggled. “Good, because no one else in the army wanted to.”

“Chickens,” Yang muttered.

“That’s what I said.”

Yang slung an arm around Ruby’s shoulders. “I knew I raised you good.”

“At least I have Maria to thank for my language lessons,” Ruby retorted. “Honestly, Yang.”

“Oh, my sincerest apologies, madam,” Yang replied dramatically in a high-society Atlesian accent. “I suppose I can only lay fault with the uncouth soldiers with whom I find myself surrounded.”

“You’re such a dork,” Ruby said, laughing.

Yang smiled and pulled Ruby closer. “I missed you, sis.”

“Missed you too.”

They walked into the castle and Yang bid her sister adieu as Ruby went back to the engineering wing and Yang continued ahead to the throne room.

“Captain Yang Xiao Long, Your Highness,” the page announced, his voice echoing around the large room.

“Ah, Captain. You’ve returned.”

Yang kept her posture straight as she walked up to the thrones, knowing that the king was a stickler for the niceties. She stopped about five feet away from the throne platform and placed her right hand over her heart in a fist and bowed at the waist.

“I’m glad to see you back in one piece,” the king said in a voice devoid of expression.

Yang had grown accustomed to how he spoke. He seldom showed emotion in any way. A large part of the army had a hard time relating to such a cold and detached leader but Yang didn’t care. She owed the king her life. She owed him Ruby’s life. She showed that gratitude by serving in his army to the best of her ability.

“Sire,” Yang greeted with an incline of the head. She glanced to his left. “Queen Winter, I believe I have something belonging to you.”

The king motioned her forward with a flick of two fingers and Yang reached inside her satchel to pull out a smaller bag. The king took it and handed it over to the queen, who looked so relieved. She quickly opened the bag and shook out the necklace that Yang had chased all the way to Atlas, the queen’s homeland, to find.

“Oh, Captain, thank you so much!” the queen gasped, and Yang was pleased to see the genuine smile on her face. In her opinion, beautiful women deserved to be smiling all the time. “I cannot ever repay you for this.”

Yang bowed again and stepped off the platform. “No repayment is necessary, my Queen. It was my pleasure to track an object so obviously dear to your heart.”

“Yes, it was my mother’s,” the queen murmured, her fingers grazing the beautiful sapphire. “She’d given it my sister before she…before…”

“There, there, Winter,” the king said in what Yang assumed was meant to be a comforting tone. He looked back at Yang. “The thief was adequately dealt with?”

Yang nodded. “I left him in the capable hands of the Atlas Military Police. They weren’t very happy when they discovered exactly what had been stolen, and from whom.”

Queen Winter wasn’t just Vale’s queen; she had been a princess in the kingdom of Atlas. Her father, King Jacques Schnee, had married Winter off to King James Ironwood pretty much the second she’d turned eighteen. That had been shortly after Winter’s sister had disappeared. Yang didn’t mess in the affairs of royalty but she did know that the disappearance of Princess Weiss was something that all of Atlas still struggled with.

Yang spared a glance at the queen.

_Especially Queen Winter._

“Rest up, Captain,” the king said, dismissing her. “I’ll have a new assignment for you in the morning.”

“Yes, King Ironwood.” Yang bowed and turned, walking purposefully out of the throne room. She could feel eyes on her but shook them off.

It was a short walk back to the stables to gather her saddlebag, stopping only at a fruit stand along the way. The twins were engrossed with their new toys – two Grimm figures that Yang had carved herself while she’d been away. She knew that Ruby was going to be asked to paint them in due course.

“Listen to Shopkeep now,” Yang reminded the twins, shouldering her belongings.

The stable master, whom she had affectionately nicknamed Shopkeep – something she doubted he approved of – just huffed. Yang chuckled and walked into Bumblebee’s stall, her horse immediately pricking up ears.

“Hey, beautiful,” Yang murmured, rubbing her nose. “Thanks for all your hard work on this adventure. We had some fun, didn’t we?” Bumblebee nudged Yang’s pocket, causing her to laugh. “I can’t hide anything from you.” She pulled out two apples. “Here you go.” Bumblebee gobbled them up before Yang had even properly handed them to her, resulting in her hand being covered in slobber.

“Ugh, Bee! Gross.” She pulled a face.

The twins just laughed hysterically and Yang glared good-naturedly. “Make sure she’s given extra special treatment tonight, okay? She’s had a hard trip.”

“Yes, Captain!” they chorused.

Yang ruffled their heads with her slobbered hand which resulted in the twins yelling and her just getting fur stuck to her hand.

“Yep, bath sounds good right about now,” she muttered, heading away from the castle to the outer circle of the city, but still within the castle walls. The king liked to keep his kingdom safe and as much as Yang loved to be out in the world, she respected the need for security. Her house was a modest bungalow nestled in the corner. She was surrounded by the high castle walls on two sides and had only one neighbour – her sister. She’d built Ruby’s house shortly after Ruby’s eighteenth birthday, as a gift. Mostly it was because Ruby’s passion projects had started to take over the small house and Yang had endured too many “accidental” explosions.

Yang fingered one particular scar on the inside of her arm as she approached her house. She pushed open her door and inhaled deeply, a smile creeping onto her face. The first thing she did was step out of her boots, kicking them to the side. Next, she dropped her bag on the table in the living room slash dining area. She washed her hands in the kitchen, immediately feeling relief at the absence of dried horse slobber and goat hair. She started a fire to take the chill out of the walls and headed into her bedroom. She cracked the window open – she couldn’t sleep without fresh air, even in the dead of winter – and shrugged her uniform coat off. Her uniform was very lax, as allowed by the king. She’d adapted the Vale uniform to suit her. If she was part of anything official within the army, then she wore the full uniform. As she generally undertook different missions, she’d – or rather, Ruby had – modified the jacket for extended travelling, giving it extra length and adding multiple pockets on the inside. She also had a modified utility belt – thanks to Ruby – which allowed her to carry more weapons than the ordinary army captain.

Yang hung her coat up and dusted it off. She loved her coat and was proud that it, among other things, stood her apart from everyone else. While Yang appreciated the uniformity and routine of the army, it wasn’t who she was and luckily, King Ironwood had allowed her the variations in her uniform in lieu of her taking on his special missions.

She walked into her bathroom and smiled at the large bath that was sunk into the floor. It was heated underneath by Fire Dust – very carefully designed by Ruby. Yang loved nothing more than to relax in her big tub after a long journey. It made coming home all the better.

Yang turned the hot water on and headed back into her bedroom. She started disarming. First, it was her short-barrel shotgun, complete with forty extra dust shells attached underneath. Then, her dual pistols, both equipped with eighty rounds of quick-fire Dust bullets. Five Dust grenades were attached to her utility belt, which she unhooked and placed in the safe with her other weapons. Lastly, she slid out her axe and knife – lovingly crafted by her super talented sister – and her set of throwing stars. The stars were made with the finest Dust that Ruby and Pietro were able to extract. They worked as accurate weapons but also as a potential toxin, if released, and a tracking device, something that Yang had found most useful in her last mission when the thief had given her the slip in Mantle’s maze of streets.

Yang closed her safe and locked it, spinning the dial several times. She was very proud that Ruby always asked her to test out new weapons – it gave her an edge in combat when she had weapons that no one else did.

She stretched again and undressed quickly, looking forward to the warmth of her bath. As always, the temperature was perfect and Yang hummed in contentment as she added oils to the water to soothe her muscles. She slid into the water and sighed.

“This is the shit.”

She rested her head against the edge of the bath and closed her eyes, savouring the peace and quiet, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before it was interrupted.

Sure enough, not five minutes passed before Yang heard the back door in her bedroom open and close again in quick and quiet succession. She didn’t react, though. She could feel the air change when her visitor entered the bathroom.

Yang opened her eyes and sighed. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“You say that every time, and yet you never turn me away.”

“Who am I to refuse my queen?”

Winter undid the black hooded robe she’d been wearing to hide her identity and let it fall to the floor, revealing totally nudity. Yang inhaled sharply. Winter was truly beautiful and Yang was powerless to resist her; she had been since the first time they had…been indiscreet.

Winter stepped into the bath, her creamy skin disappearing beneath the water. She crawled towards Yang, who suddenly felt wide awake.

“Yes, it would be very unwise to refuse your queen,” Winter replied in a low voice that immediately made Yang grab her and kiss her.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was starting to creep back up into the sky, stealing away the darkness with each passing minute. Two figures emerged from the cover of the trees at a hurried pace.

“We’ll get hit the last minute,” one murmured.

“I know. We’ll be fine. We got enough tonight for it to only be a headache. Nothing a good day’s sleep won’t fix.”

“Oh, how I wish that aspirin still had an effect on me.”

A chuckle. “As opposed to not actually needing them?”

“I suppose you make a valid point.”

“You suppose, do you?”

Their walk was quick, quicker than that of a normal human or Faunus.

“Halt! Who goes there!”

They both paused and glanced back at the man aiming a rifle at their heads. Their hoods disguised their features but as soon as the closer one removed hers, the man gasped.

“My apologies, Your Highness. I thought you would have returned to the manor already.” He held his arm across his chest in a respectful salute and dropped to one knee. “I always check the outskirts of the forest after your nights out.”

The other cloaked figure stepped forward and removed her hood. “Your diligence is much appreciated, Jaune.”

Jaune smiled. “You do so much for this community and I want to do my part to ensure our safety from unwanted visitors.” He glared at the trees as though they held some unspeakable threat.

The first woman smiled. “We’re a little later than expected. We had to travel closer to Mountain Glenn than we’d originally planned. Have you been patrolling all night, Jaune?”

He grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes, Majesties.”

“Please stop calling us that,” the second woman said with a humorous scoff. “We are not royalty.”

“We are, actually,” the first woman replied, lifting her chin. “It shows that Jaune has a sense of propriety and I, for one, value that in someone guarding the secrecy of a well-kept secret from the other kingdoms.”

The second woman rolled her eyes. “Has anyone ever told you that you are unnecessarily loquacious? We need to go now before we make things worse for ourselves.” She pulled her hood back up and ran off in the direction they had originally been heading, quickly disappearing from view.

The first woman sighed. “I suppose she makes a valid point.”

“Have a good rest, Your Highness,” Jaune murmured, standing up but still holding the salute.

“Thank you, Jaune. Things should be fine now. You go on home. I’m sure Pyrrha will be eager to see you.”

Jaune’s cheeks dusted pink and the first woman immediately headed after the second, pulling her hood up as she did so. She wasn’t sure why she bothered – she was running too fast for people to even see her.

* * *

A cool breeze blowing across her naked back woke Yang. She pushed herself up, blinking her eyes open. For a few moments, her gaze was blurry as sleep left her. She glanced out of the open window and measured that it was around eight in the morning.

She needed to get up and be on her way.

Yang rolled out of bed and stretched, smiling as her joints realigned themselves. Winter had certainly tested the limits of her strength and flexibility the night before, which wasn’t anything new for Yang, but she had been on the road for over a month and those muscles were out of practise.

Not bothering with clothes, Yang walked into her bathroom and turned the tap on to fill the bath once more. She relieved herself and brushed her teeth while she waited for the tub to fill. Half an hour, she walked out of her home, taking a deep breath of the fresh morning air and grinned.

She was definitely a morning person. She whistled as she headed up to the castle. As she walked through the square, a palace herald was standing on a stage, reading an announcement. Yang paused to listen.

“The king appreciates everything that you have contributed to his ongoing mission of safety for the kingdom.”

Yang heard a few grumbles at that and upon closer inspection, the gathered crowd looked decidedly pissed off.

“What’s up?” she asked one of the soldiers at the back.

“Morning, Captain,” he greeted in a low voice. “The king is raising taxes next month to assist with the war expenses.”

Yang felt her annoyance spike. The people of Vale were already struggling with the hefty taxes imposed upon them by King Ironwood in the name of his war and he wanted to increase them? What was the point in having the best army in Remnant if the people they were meant to defend had died from starvation or cold because they couldn’t afford food or Fire Dust? All because of a war that had no end in sight, that never seemed to take the army out of Vale to actually fight in a big battle, dealing instead with small skirmishes, mostly with bandits and raiders.

She shook her head subtly, not wanting to appear openly against the king’s plans. She was a soldier and she followed her orders, regardless of her personal beliefs. She owed King Ironwood everything and she would be forever indebted to him, which was why she never questioned the odd missions he sent her on nor the reasons for his involvement in the war. She couldn’t afford an alternative where she wasn’t in the king’s favour, especially given that she was boning his wife on the regular.

As she ascended the stairs to the castle, she wondered where she’d be going next. She passed the hallway that would take her to the engineering wing where Ruby had no doubt been hard at work since the sun rose. Yang felt a pang of sadness. She’d just gotten back after being away from Ruby for over a month and the king was ready to send her on another mission, for who knew how long.

She vowed to make sure that she at least had a chance to say goodbye properly. The king’s ‘urgent’ missions had often meant that she’d left Vale without a chance to say her goodbyes. Whenever Ruby was sad, Yang took personal exception against the cause and she refused to be the reason why her little sister, her very reason for breathing, was sad.

She walked up to the throne room, waiting for the page to announce her arrival and continued down the long, carpeted walkway to where the king – only the king – was sat on his throne.

_Winter must be sleeping in._

Yang saluted and bowed, waiting for him to initiate the conversation.

The king gave her a measured look, his blank face giving nothing away.

_Oh, shit. Oh, shit. He knows. Shit, he knows. I’m so, so dead._

She wasn’t sure that the king would even care that Yang had been screwing his wife for the better part of three years. Yang knew for a fact that Winter wasn’t getting her needs satisfied by him. They had never slept in the same room and not since their wedding night more than five years previously had the king even attempted to touch her. Did she feel guilty about her affair with the queen? As much as Yang was a stickler for rules in the army, she didn’t feel guilty about giving Winter something that she clearly needed desperately. Yang didn’t feel as though what she and Winter did affected the king in any way since he didn’t appear to acknowledge her very much.

Sure, the majority of Yang and Winter’s relationship was based on physical attraction and intimacy. There had been times where she and Winter had stayed awake afterwards and talked about whatever came to their mind. That was how Yang had known about the necklace and what it meant to Winter.

 _Shit, maybe that’s it. Did King Ironwood tell me that it belonged to Winter’s sister?_ She tried to wrack her brain but couldn’t remember. The king was a masterful tactician. His skills of deduction were highly respected and for good reason. If Yang had slipped up, he would pick up on it very quickly. He would consider her affair with the queen a bargaining chip, a way for Yang to do what he wanted. That was how he worked and Yang knew that.

Considering she already owed him her life, she didn’t see much of a difference with him having another thing to laud over her.

Yang had also had many years of practice to perfect her poker face and she thanked her lucky stars for her diligent efforts as, while her thoughts ran wild waiting for the king to say something, her face gave nothing away.

“Captain,” he eventually said.

“Good morning, Your Highness,” Yang replied, saluting again.

“How was your evening?”

Was he attempting…small talk?

Yang was honestly surprised. Never in the fifteen years she’d known the king, had he ever asked her how she was.

“I am well, Sire. And…yourself?”

King Ironwood just hummed, stroking his beard. And then Yang knew she was royally screwed – and not in the way she’d been the night before. The king stroking his beard was a sure-fire sign of impending disaster. Either he was going to lose his temper or make a really bad decision.

Like raising the taxes.

“Captain Xiao Long, you are my most trusted leader in my army and I believe that this is a mission that only you can accomplish.”

Yang stood straight and nodded. If the king was praising her before sending her out, it could only mean one thing. Whatever mission she was about to go on, it was dangerous.

“I’ve noticed something over the last few months, Captain,” the king said, standing up and walking along the raised platform. He got to the end, turned around and walked back. Yang was getting a little annoyed at the drama but she said nothing, keeping her form strong and her eyes on him.

“It’s been a subtle change but I pick up everything.” He paused and looked directly at her. “I know _everything_ that happens in this kingdom, Captain.”

“Yes, Sire,” she responded calmly.

“This begs the question, why have thirty-seven Vale residents gone missing?”

“Missing, Your Highness?” Yang asked, totally confused. She’d honestly thought his destination had been more along the lines of her certain death for screwing his queen.

“Yes, Captain. Their homes have been checked and only a few personal affects seem to be gone. Those that worked did not notify their superiors of their plans to travel, if in fact that is what they did.”

Yang tried to gauge whether the king was headed. Did he want her to find the missing people? That was going to be an interesting mission. She was a soldier, not a detective.

“There has not been an influx of residents from Vale into Vacuo so between our two kingdoms lies the answer.”

_Ah. There it is. He wants me to look for a needle in a haystack, keeping me out of the kingdom for an indeterminable amount of time._

“Of course, Sire. Where can I get a list of the people that have gone missing?”

* * *

Yang wore a scowl that deterred people from approaching her – an unusual occurrence, to be sure. Yang was known to be friendly and conversational so to see her walking around with a thundercloud hanging over her head was unsettling.

_Take ten of your best men. Find these missing people, no matter the cost._

No matter the cost.

Yang knew she shouldn’t have expected anything more but the confirmation that she was just another number to the king hurt. He was the closest thing she had to a father and a motivating factor in her diligence as a soldier was to one day, perhaps, get a reaction from him that made her feel like it had all been worth it.

That the years she and Ruby had struggled to just survive before King Ironwood – then Prince Ironwood – had found them and brought them back to Vale had meant that things were better.

Yang set her jaw as she approached her house, pushing her door open vigorously and slamming it shut behind her. It wasn’t the fact that the mission would undoubtedly take her away from Ruby for who knew how long – certainly longer than she had ever been away before. It wasn’t even the fact that Yang had no idea where to even start looking for thirty-seven missing people. It also wasn’t the fact that she had just got back from a mission to Atlas and the king wanted her to search an entire continent – one she admittedly knew quite well – for thirty-seven people amongst tens of thousands. Strangely, she could even handle him sending her on a fruitless mission that may even result in her death.

No, Yang could deal with all of that (she was going to have trouble with the first one, admittedly). The problem she had was that she knew the king’s war was a total farce. The army didn’t know who it was fighting. Yang had steadily ignored her suspicions for months that the taxes for war and all the weapons and training that the army had been doing wasn’t necessary.

She’d hoped that perhaps the money was being used elsewhere to benefit the kingdom but those hopes had just been dashed.

The Kingdom of Vale had been in preparation mode for the impending war for over two years. Yang shook with anger at how much money had been spent on weapons, on training, on limiting rations for everyone, on risking the very livelihood of the kingdom’s inhabitants.

And for _what_?

There was no war. Or if there was a war, the enemy was invisible. Yang knew for certain that they weren’t fighting any of the other kingdoms – her travels brought her news from every corner of Remnant and the world seemed to be in a state of peace.

Yang removed her jacket and sat down at her kitchen table. She pulled out the small strip of paper that she’d found in her pocket after leaving the castle. She couldn’t recall anyone brushing up close enough to her to leave something in her pocket but it hadn’t been in there when she’d entered the throne room.

With shaking hands, she unrolled the parchment and read the words carefully, even though she’d already memorised it since first seeing it twenty minutes before.

_I saw the queen leaving the captain’s quarters early this morning after my meeting with Watts. Her attire left no doubt as to the reason for her visit. Watts has confirmed the shipment of weapons to Atlas. The army still fully believes that there is a war coming. I agree that we should proceed to transferring the money for the war in the Vale vault to our various depositories across Remnant. I would also suggest getting rid of Captain Xiao Long before she becomes even more of a problem. We’ll talk soon._

Yang tried to keep her breathing calm as her left hand tightened into a fist. She’d been made a fool of. The king had made fools out of the entire army, making them believe that any day they could be called into their last battle. She had lost men in battles over the last two years in preparation for a war that didn’t exist. Those families were without a loved one for _nothing._

She stood up and punched the concrete wall next to her. While her gloves protected her hand somewhat, she bared her teeth at the flashes of pain shooting up her arm.

The king wanted her gone so that she wouldn’t figure out what he was doing. He knew about her and Winter and Yang feared the real reason for the queen’s absence that morning. She didn’t know the king to be a violent man but she didn’t remember him ever having such insubordination thrown in his face so she couldn’t be sure how he’d react.

Yang had to plan her next moves very, very carefully. She had to make sure that Ruby would be safe. She would have to leave – that much was clear. Remaining in the kingdom would probably force the king’s hand, especially if he was planning as the note suggested. If she was in the kingdom, she would know very quickly that money was being moved out of the vault. She was too well liked – something that king usually appreciated about her because it made her job a lot easier. But it would work against him for whatever he had planned.

“I have to do something!” Yang said out loud, running a hand through her hair.

First things first, she needed to make sure that Ruby would be okay, that no harm would come to her. Pietro and Maria were like surrogate parents to Ruby – Yang had been too involved in learning combat and strategy from the age of thirteen to continue parenting Ruby so the elderly couple had taken over. It was fate, clearly, because Ruby discovered her passion for invention, something the Pietro was an expert in as Chief Engineer.

Yang knew that she could trust Pietro and Maria with the information that she had. They weren’t the type to stage a mutiny against the throne – their priority was always acting in the best interests of the majority. Since the king didn’t seem to give a shit about the majority, Yang knew that Maria, especially, would understand her position and why she needed to leave.

She grabbed her jacket and briefly wondered if she should risk going to see Winter. Like Winter had her secret – or not so secret, it would appear – ways of getting to Yang, Yang had decidedly more convoluted ways of getting to the queen. A room some two hundred stairs up in a castle tower wasn’t exactly easy to get to undetected but Yang was nothing if not determined.

_First stop, Pietro and Maria._

_Actually, first stop, stables._

She needed to see the twins and Bumblebee. They would be worried and Yang had to remember to include them in her request to Pietro and Maria. She didn’t think that would be a problem since Maria had developed a fondness for them. Pietro didn’t particularly care for children, apart from Ruby, and that was only because she had shown an affinity for engineering from about the age of seven. Yang knew that was because he had tragically lost his daughter, Penny, before he and Maria had ever met.

Yang took a few more moments to centre herself and calm down. She had to keep a clear head. She couldn’t let slip that she knew what was going on, more so for the sake of her loved ones. She didn’t care what the king did to her but she absolutely cared that her family and friends did not come to any harm.

Feeling more in control, Yang folded the note carefully and wrapped it in a stained old handkerchief. Her pants had a tiny pocket on the inside, in which she fitted the note quite snugly. She felt confident that it wouldn’t fall out. She also felt confident that no one would look for a note confirming her affair with the queen as well as the war being a hoax against her underwear.

Yang walked out of her house and headed for the stables where she found the twins brushing down Bumblebee. All three were excited to see her and Yang let their excitement momentarily distract her from the shitshow her life had become since waking up that morning.

She left after spending half an hour with the twins and making them promise not to give Bumblebee too many apples, even though she knew they would anyway. They loved her horse almost as much as she did. Reality settled in quickly as she walked back up to the castle. Another herald was up on the stage, announcing the same thing Yang had heard earlier. The folk gathered were not happy and Yang was less inclined to hide her displeasure as well but she knew that she had to play her role. She kept a calm expression on her face as she walked to the engineering wing of the castle, greeting people as she usually did.

“Ah, Yang!” Pietro greeted as soon as he saw her walk through the door of their workshop.

“Yang?” Ruby’s head popped up between benches and Yang couldn’t help but smile affectionately at her little sister covered in dirt after just a few hours of work.

Ruby jumped up and ran over, throwing her arms around Yang’s waist. Yang returned the hug just as intently. Ruby’s hugs were the greatest and Yang needed that comfort more than ever. She absolutely hated the thought of leaving Ruby for who knew how long, especially after having just gotten back. She knew that she could likely give herself a day or two leeway before leaving. The king would believe that she was gathering information about the missing people.

Maria and Pietro may also know something about that – they’d been living in Vale since before the king was born.

“What are you working on?” Yang asked Ruby.

“The gauntlets! I think I’m gonna have them ready for testing in about a week!” Ruby said excitedly.

Yang tried hard not to let her expression drop but Ruby knew her better than anyone.

“What?” she asked quietly. “Are you leaving again?”

Yang sighed. “Special mission for the king,” she replied.

“B-But you just got back!” Ruby mumbled, her brow furrowing. “Can’t someone else do it?”

“Probably. But he knows I’ll get it done better and faster than anyone.” Yang knew her bravado worked with most people, but Ruby was definitely not most people.

“So? Let them do it! You’re always gone now.”

The sadness in Ruby’s eyes and voice almost broke Yang.

_Remember you’re keeping her safe._

She pulled Ruby into another hug. “I’m not leaving for another two days so I’m going to bribe Pietro to give you some time off so that we can spend it together. I will need to do some things, reconnaissance and such, but I don’t want you to be mad, Ruby.”

“Well, I am mad.” Ruby stepped away from Yang, causing her heart to ache. “I’m mad and I’m sad.” She looked at Pietro who was watching the exchange with sympathy. “I’m going for a walk. I’ll be back later.”

“Take the scythe designs with you,” Pietro suggested. “See if you can find some of that material you’re looking for.”

“Oh, you’re making a scythe?” Yang asked with genuine interest.

Ruby looked at her. “I know you’re a solider, Yang, and I know it’s your duty. But you were my sister long before you were a soldier. It doesn’t feel like I come first anymore.”

Yang bit down on the inside of her cheek. It was _killing_ her that Ruby was hurting and she was warring inside with the dilemma of doing what was right and doing what she wanted. She couldn’t remember the last time those two things had married.

She tried to keep her breathing as even as possible, watching Ruby intently as she left the room. She waited a full thirty seconds after her sister had left before turning and punching the nearest wall.

Thankfully, it was her right hand instead of her left, which was still smarting after she’d done the same thing earlier.

“Are you quite finished?” came a sarcastic drawl from the far end of the room.

Yang turned. Maria was so small that she sometimes missed her in a room.

“I’m sorry,” Yang apologised. “I need to tell you both something.” She walked over to the door and pushed it closed.

“This is serious,” Pietro murmured, moving away from his workstation.

“This is a matter of life and death,” Yang stated. She pulled the handkerchief out from her secret pocket but didn’t open it just yet. “I trust you two implicitly. You’ve taken care of both of us since we were kids and more so Ruby after I started training for the army.” She swallowed. “What I’m about to tell you cannot leave this room under _any_ circumstances.”

Pietro and Maria exchanged a glance.

“Are you in danger, Yang?” Maria asked.

“Yes,” she answered honestly.

“Okay. Tell us.”

Yang did. She told them about her affair with the queen, about the training exercises and missions that often led to dead ends, about the raising taxes, about the peace in the kingdoms. Finally, she showed them the note.

“Well,” Pietro said, pushing his glasses up his nose, “that certainly tracks.”

Yang blinked. “Wait, you knew?”

Maria lifted a shoulder. “We had our suspicions, like you. But we’re not as involved as you are so they’ve remained suspicions.”

“Okay.” Yang nodded. “The king wants me out of the kingdom so I’m going to do that because I fear that if I don’t, it’s my family he’s going to punish. He can do what he likes to me but I can’t let anything happen to Ruby or to you. I just can’t.”

“We understand that, Yang. Why don’t you want to tell Ruby, though?”

“She’ll just want to come with me if I tell her the truth and she’s not ready for the outside world. Not yet.”

“Hmmm. You may want to give your sister more credit than that, Captain,” Maria said. “Ruby has grown up a lot. When you’re here, she’s very excitable and reverts back to the girl that you’ve always known her as. But when you’re not here, she’s not nearly as happy and outgoing. I mean, she’s still friendly, obviously. She’s Ruby Rose. I don’t think she knows how to not be friendly.”

Yang couldn’t help cracking a smile at that. The possibility of a new plan started to form in her head. “Okay, so I don’t know where I’m going, exactly. It depends on what information I can gather but if I can get word back to you in, say, a month or so as to my intended location, would you get Ruby and the twins and meet me there?”

“That doesn’t seem very fair, now does it?” Pietro murmured.

“How so?” Yang asked, frowning.

“What makes us so special that you would risk the king’s wrath to get us out of Vale, only for the rest of the people here to continue suffering under what will no doubt become a more dire situation in the coming months?”

Yang set her jaw. Pietro made a very good point and Yang wanted so badly to be selfish but Ruby wouldn’t stand for that either. She’d say the same thing as Pietro.

“What mission is the king sending you on that will have you out of the kingdom indefinitely and probably threaten your life?”

“Apparently thirty-seven people have gone missing from Vale. Just…disappeared. The king wants me to find them.”

Pietro and Maria exchanged a look which Yang picked up on immediately. “What do you know of it?”

“There have been whispers for some weeks of a place deep in the forest, about a hundred miles south of Mountain Glenn where a community lives governed by no kingdom.”

Yang frowned. “How can they be governed by no kingdom? The forest falls into the Kingdom of Vale.”

“That may be, but no one has forced them to sign any laws or swear fealty or anything like that.”

“I find that very hard to believe. The king knows _everything_ that happens in the kingdom, much as he likes to remind me. He would know if there is a place where people are living free of his rule, of any rule.”

“I can think of two reasons why he would do just that,” Maria replied. “One, he knows that this place exists and probably knows that’s where his people are disappearing to because it’s becoming increasingly difficult to live in Vale with his taxes and rations.”

“Okay, then why has he left this community alone? It doesn’t match his style at all.”

“That’s the second reason. Rumour has it that there is a ruler of sorts of this land. She holds no title over her people and they live freely.”

When Maria didn’t continue, Yang leaned forward. “Is there something special about this ruler?”

“She is rumoured to be an Immortal, a beast who feeds off the blood of her enemies.”

Yang’s eyes widened. “You think that the king is sending me to this place, that I’ll be perceived as a threat to her people’s freedom and she’ll kill me.”

“If such a place exists and if such a woman exists, then yes. I do believe that is his plan.”

Yang folded her arms across her chest. “An Immortal, you say? I thought those only existed in myths. How did you even hear about this place?”

“You remember Nora Valkyrie?”

Yang rolled her eyes. “I don’t think anyone in Vale can ever forget Nora Valkyrie. Why?”

“She and her hunting troupe were out in the forest a few months ago and they saw something. Nora and Ren made it back but Jaune and Pyrrha didn’t.”

“Oh no,” Yang whispered, covering her mouth in horror. “That’s awful.”

“We all thought so too,” Maria said, “until Nora received a letter from Jaune.”

“A letter?”

“Yes, a letter explaining what it was they had seen and where they were.”

“Is Nora still in the kingdom?” Yang asked, standing up abruptly.

“She and Ren left two weeks ago. They haven’t been seen since.”

Yang started pacing. “Did they give you any clue as to where they were going?”

“I think it’s fairly obvious they were going to join up with Jaune and Pyrrha, Yang.”

“Yes, that makes sense. I just wanted to check.” She stood tall, hands clasped behind her back. “If that’s where they’ve all gone then I’ll go there, confront whatever it is that’s there and come back. If I manage to do that, will you leave Vale with me?”

Pietro and Maria shared another glance.

“You have time to consider it,” Yang added gently. “It’s not a decision that should be taken lightly. I will be coming back for Ruby, though, regardless of whether you choose to come with me or not.”

“The king wouldn’t have sent you on this mission if he wasn’t certain there was a high chance you weren’t coming back,” Maria said. “Don’t take this lightly, Yang. For all we know, this ruler is, in fact, an Immortal who’s just killed everyone that travelled there in the hopes of a better life, merely perpetuating an illusion to draw more people into her trap.”

Yang nodded. “You’re absolutely right. We don’t know the truth about what’s going on. It could be a total farce, much like this war. But I still have to check it out. If you think that this could be the destination for all these people missing, then I’m going to trust it because I trust you and you wouldn’t lie to me.”

“Even if it means risking your life?” Pietro asked.

“Staying here means that I’m risking my life along with Ruby’s and all of yours,” Yang replied. “That’s not a wager I’m willing to make.”

“Your devotion to Ruby is honourable, Yang. Just remember that losing you could break her. Factor that in your wagers. What’s the point in you risking everything if she’s going to be destroyed at the end?”

Yang nodded slowly. “I…hadn’t considered that, Maria. Thank you.”

Maria chuckled. “I figured you hadn’t. You rush to danger heart first, much like your Penny, isn’t that right, Pietro?”

Pietro smiled sadly. “Yes, indeed. Learn from Penny, Yang. Don’t make me bury another daughter.”

Yang swallowed, tears blinking unexpectedly in her eyes. “I won’t, Pietro. You have my word.”


	3. Chapter 3

The faint sound of whimpering and an uncomfortable pressure in her gut pulled her from slumber. Usually after a hunt, she slept like the dead.

She snorted at her own unintentional humour and pushed the covers off herself. The sound hit her again and she dashed silently out of her room to the one at the very end of the hall. No one else would hear the soft cries but she was attuned to the sound – to any and all sounds that came from that room.

She pushed open the door and shut it behind her. On the big four-poster bed, her dearest friend was tossing and turning, throwing the sheets off herself in the process. Wasting no time, she crossed the room and climbed on. Her friend’s skin was clammy, never a good sign.

“Blake,” she called out, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. “Blake, wake up.”

“Not them,” Blake mumbled, shaking her head and scrunching her eyes up. “No, not them.”

Her heart broke for Blake. She couldn’t even fathom having the same nightmare almost daily for so long. It was a wonder that Blake was even able to function.

“Blake!” she called out, her voice sharper, making sure that the tone would penetrate Blake’s sound defences. “Blake!”

Blake startled awake and grabbed her friend’s wrist, turning it sharply. A loud crack reverberated through the room.

“Ouch,” she said dryly, taking her hand back and realigning it so that the bones healed correctly.

“W-Weiss?”

“Welcome back, Lady Belladonna,” Weiss droned, wincing as her carpals reset themselves. Natural healing of broken bones was never a pleasant thing, even with dulled pain receptors.

“Oh, no,” Blake whispered, covering her mouth in horror. “I’ve hurt you.”

“I’m quite durable, I assure you. No harm done.” Weiss rotated her healed wrist. “See?”

Blake raised her knee and rested her forehead against it, breathing out shakily. Weiss frowned in sympathy and scooted closer. She wrapped an arm around Blake’s shoulders.

“There is no use dwelling on it now, Blake,” she murmured. “There are still at least five hours before the sun sets. Why don’t we try and get some more sleep?”

Blake just nodded and pulled the covers back over herself, slowly settling back against her pillows. Weiss lifted the sheet and slid in next to her. Blake sent her a grateful smile.

“Just don’t punch me this time,” Weiss grumbled, wriggling to get comfortable.

Blake let out a soft chuckle. “Your reflexes are too quick. You always move out of the way in time.”

Weiss smirked, closing her eyes. “Just because my reflexes are better doesn’t mean that I should have to use them to fend off my best friend.”

Blake was quiet and Weiss opened one eye to check on her. She was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, a bad habit she’d had ever since Weiss had met her.

“I’m teasing you,” Weiss whispered, nudging Blake’s foot with her own. “Now go back to sleep. I still have a headache.”

“You shouldn’t have talked to Jaune for so long,” Blake teased.

“Excuse me for wanting to show my gratitude.”

“You’re so easy to wind up, Weiss. You need to let loose once in a while.” Blake wrapped an arm around Weiss’ waist and pulled them flush together.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.”

“We’re decidedly unwelcome in heaven” Blake whispered, her whisper brushing Weiss’ ear.

“And you’re decidedly delusional,” Weiss replied, getting comfortable in Blake’s embrace. “Don’t try anything funny. I love you more than life itself but I am in no way attracted to you.”

“Wow. Tell me how you really feel.”

“I just did.”

Blake breathed out a laugh and Weiss smiled to herself. She knew how Blake’s mind worked and she knew the best ways to get her away from the memories that haunted her.

“Now sleep, you dolt.”

* * *

The sun was setting and Yang paced up and down her living room, her ears alert for Ruby’s arrival home. She’d left the workshop before Ruby had returned to notify the king of her departure plans. Both wore their poker faces to perfection and Yang was proud of herself for keeping her cool. She’d never wanted to punch anyone quite like she wanted to punch the king.

Not that she’d _ever_ say that out loud. While her fate was still in her own hands, she was going to do everything she could to ensure her safety and thereby, Ruby’s. Sure, Pietro, Maria and the twins were on that list too but her primary focus, as it would always be, was Ruby.

Half an hour passed without a sound. Yang bit her lip. Was Ruby that mad at her? She couldn’t tell her the truth because Ruby’s moral compass would point her straight at the king and she’d just paint a target on her back.

Much like Yang had by sleeping with the queen.

She glanced outside. The sun had fully set, leaving a dark orange haze over the kingdom as the last rays of sunshine dissipated. Yang walked into her bedroom and opened the top drawer on her dresser. She pulled out a piece of fabric and pulled it over her head. It hid her _very_ noticeable blonde curls and left just her eyes exposed. Yang shrugged off her trademark jacket as well. She wanted to be anonymous and two things that people recognised instantly were her hair and her jacket. Those that knew her better noticed that her eyes were a unique lilac colour but Yang wasn’t worried about people seeing her eyes in the dark. She grabbed a black coat, which was her second favourite coat. It was also long and had space for all sorts and things she could hide. Yang needed to be able to move quickly so she didn’t take her guns or axe. She did, however, pocket her throwing stars and knife. She wasn’t an idiot; the king wanted her dead and she was about to head right into the lion’s den. She wasn’t about to offer herself up as a free meal.

By the time Yang had kitted up and was ready to leave, she still hadn’t heard Ruby come back so she resolved to find her after she’d been to see Winter. Yang slipped out her back door and glanced around. A row of thorny bushes hid a trap door that Yang opened noiselessly – she made sure to oil the hinges at least once a week – and entered the darkness below. She had walked the tunnel enough times to know her way without the assistance of light. Given the circumstances, she spun her knife into her right hand as she made her way along the tunnel, just in case.

After about three minutes of walking, Yang felt in front of her for the ladder to take her up. She ascended the few steps and paused as she reached the door, her ears alert for any movement outside. When she was certain that there was none, she propped open the door a little, glanced around and quickly jumped out, closing the door noiselessly behind her. She looked up at the tower in front of her and jumped onto the lowest ledge. It was a slow process to climb it but it was the only way Yang would be undetected and the handholds were too far away for her to risk climbing too quickly, lest she fall to her death.

Luckily, Yang had exemplary upper body strength, something she’d worked on tirelessly to prove that she could easily keep up with her male counterparts. Not only had she done that, but she’d earned the respect of every single soldier in the army – not an easy feat considering there were many that didn’t think she deserved to be there. They thought the king favoured her and gave her special tasks because she was too good for the rest of them.

 _Oh, if they only knew,_ Yang mused as she neared Winter’s small balcony. She jumped the last gap and grabbed onto the ledge of the balcony with her fingertips, gritting her teeth at the close call. She steadied herself by grabbing the ledge with her other hand and getting a better grip with both. She slowly pulled herself up, letting her foot rest on the support pillars affixed to the tower. She waited a full two minutes to detect any movement in the dark room. She couldn’t see nor hear anything so she boosted herself up and over the balcony, her boots making no sound as she dropped down. She waited once more to check for movement and once she felt it was safe, she opened the balcony door and slipped inside.

“Yang?” Winter’s surprised whisper came from the bed. “You shouldn’t be here!”

Yang crossed the room and pulled off her head covering. “I had to make sure you were okay,” she whispered back.

Winter’s hair was down and obscuring half her face in shadow. Yang frowned. Winter refused to look at her fully. She moved to sit down on the bed next to her and put her finger gently underneath Winter’s chin to tilt her face into the light. What she saw made her see red.

“No,” Winter pleaded, grabbing her hands. She kept her voice in a whisper. “Don’t, Yang. Please, don’t. It’ll only make things worse.”

The hand not touching Winter’s face was clenched into a tight fist. Yang had felt rage before, but nothing made her blood boil than knowing a man raised a hand to his wife. Violence was _never_ the answer. Yang had lived with that for far too long as a child and she refused the let her life be tainted by such things again.

She swallowed her anger and shifted so that she was facing Winter fully. She leaned in and kissed the large bruise on the side of her face tenderly.

“He will pay for this,” she vowed in a whisper. “He had no right to-“

“I was unfaithful, Yang,” Winter replied, shaking her head.

“Unfaithful to a man who never touched you? How is that being unfaithful? There was nothing to betray if he wasn’t providing it in the first place.”

“I betrayed his heart.”

Yang scoffed quietly. “That man has no heart. He’s sending me to what he believes will be certain death because he knows that I will soon expose his true nature.”

Winter frowned in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Yang contemplated how much she should divulge to Winter considering that she wasn’t going to be around to protect her.

When the light of the rising moon fell across her face again, illuminating the dark mark that the king had left there, she made a decision.

“He’s been lying to everyone,” Yang whispered. “There is no war. He’s looking to funnel lien and weapons to depositories all over Remnant.”

“F-For what purpose?” Winter asked.

“I’m unclear as yet. But I will find out.” Yang said. She entwined their fingers. “I have to do this mission that he’s sending me on but I’ll be back for Ruby and Maria and Pietro…” she met Winter’s eyes, “and you.”

Winter shook her head again. “I can’t, Yang. He’d never let me leave. My father would…”

“What if I took you somewhere that they couldn’t find you?”

“Between James and my father, no such place exists, but it means so much that you would try.”

Yang shook her head. “No, Winter, listen to me. There really could be a place. It’s where he’s sending me. If I survive and I find that it’s safe, would you come with me?”

Yang knew that she was creating a bigger target on her back by offering the queen an escape but she would never forgive herself if something happened to Winter and she hadn’t at least tried.

“I…”

“Winter.” Yang tipped her chin up again and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “Think about it, okay? I’m leaving the day after tomorrow and I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone; hopefully not too long.”

“Where are you going?” Winter asked.

“Not entirely sure it’s real but supposedly there’s a small settlement town south of Mountain Glenn.”

“Are you…” Winter’s eyes widened. “Are you going to look for the missing?”

Yang nodded. “That’s what he’s sending me to do.”

“He’s sending you to the Immortal,” Winter whispered, covering her mouth as a tear rolled down her cheek.

“If such a beast exists,” Yang replied. “But yes.”

“Yang, you can’t beat an Immortal!” Winter hissed.

“No one knows that there is an Immortal or a beast or anything,” Yang replied, narrowing her eyes. “The missing could have simply created the legend to deter people from following them to their new settlement. And given how things are in the kingdom, who can blame them?”

Winter nodded slowly. “You make a valid point. It’s just… The stories I’ve heard… I fear for you.”

Yang smiled and kissed her again. “Do not fear, my queen. I have people that I care a great deal about waiting for me here. I don’t plan to abandon them.”

They looked at each other for a long while before Winter grabbed Yang’s jacket and pulled her in for a kiss. Yang knew Winter’s different kisses better than anyone and she knew what Winter was asking her.

“Winter, I can’t stay. It’s too risky,” she whispered, stroking her hair.

“I don’t want you to go,” Winter sobbed.

“If I didn’t have to, I wouldn’t but me staying here will put Ruby at greater risk. The king will go after those I care about most.” She traced the bruise on Winter’s face. “You know that’s how he operates.”

“I don’t think I’d survive anything happening to you, though,” Winter whispered. “You’ve become my sole purpose for even getting up in the mornings.”

Yang let her hand drop slowly. She knew that Winter had genuine and deep feelings for her and while she certainly cared for her and was attracted to her, she didn’t share the same level of devotion. Winter sat in the castle day after day with very little to occupy her mind so the little bit that she did get for herself became a big focus for her and Yang understood that. She was always sensitive to Winter’s feelings, especially about her. Yang had missions and her duties and her family to focus on other than Winter. Winter had nothing. The king didn’t let her do anything.

“You know I care for you, Winter,” Yang whispered, holding her hand. “You know that you feel it deeper than I do and I can’t promise you that will change.” She looked down. “I don’t know what the future is going to bring us but I do know that it can only be an improvement on what things are like right now.” She leaned in to press their lips together lightly. “Think about what I said, okay?”

Winter nodded. “You can’t stay for a little longer?” she whispered, her voice full of sorrow.

Yang sighed. “It would be too tempting for me to stay longer than is safe,” she replied, “and I fear that I would be telling you something that isn’t true.”

“I understand. I don’t like hearing it but I understand.”

“Winter, look at me.” She did. Yang took both Winter’s hands and held them tightly. “You are an amazing woman. You’re loyal and determined and kind. You have a little rebellious streak which I really like and by the Gods, you’re beautiful. James does not appreciate the treasure he has by his side and as long as you remain here, that won’t change.”

“Do you think that there’s someone out there who can love me the way I love you?” Winter whispered.

Yang kissed her hands. “I believe that there is someone for everyone.”

“Do you believe that there may be instances where that may not be the same person?”

Yang knew what Winter was saying and she took a moment to choose her words carefully. She hated hurting Winter, albeit unintentionally because she didn’t love her back. “I think it’s possible. We can’t meet every single person in Remnant so we may find people to care for until that time.”

“What if I can’t?”

“What if you _do_?” Yang countered. “When you think of the what ifs of the future, think of the good ones. What if we escape this place? What if you find someone who sweeps you off your feet? What if we find your sister?”

Two more tears rolled down Winter’s face. “Don’t give me such hope, Yang. That’s cruel.”

Yang wiped the tears away. “We don’t know what the future holds, Winter. We have no way of knowing. All we can do is play the cards we are dealt to the best of our ability.”

“You say that but you’re still doing his bidding.”

“Yes, but he doesn’t know that I’m aware of his plans. And that, Winter, is like holding a lone joker in a very stacked deck of cards.”

* * *

Yang tiredly pulled off her hood as she opened her back door and walked into her bedroom. She flopped facedown onto her bed and groaned. Winter had been understandably clingy and Yang hated leaving her, hated refusing her even more but she knew that it would have sent the wrong message.

She didn’t want to lead Winter on. It wasn’t fair to either of them.

For all Yang knew, if Winter did escape with her, perhaps they would fall madly in love. It wasn’t like Yang couldn’t imagine falling in love with Winter. When they’d first started sleeping together, Yang had gotten really invested, even though she knew the dangers. As time had gone on, she realised that Winter didn’t stir that feeling of excitement in her stomach when Yang thought about her. She cared about her a great deal, absolutely. And who knew – without the worry of being caught within the walls of the kingdom, perhaps there was a real chance for them on the outside.

“Where have you been?”

Yang squeaked and fell off her bed in alarm. She stood up quickly, brushing herself off. “Ruby!” she said brightly.

Ruby stood in the doorway, eyes narrowed and arms folded. “Where have you been?” she repeated.

“I was gathering information for my next mission,” Yang said quietly, which wasn’t a total lie. Talking to Winter had been integral to her peace of mind; to both of theirs, probably.

Ruby looked at her for a few moments and Yang did her best to broadcast that she didn’t want to hide anything, even though she knew that she was keeping so much from Ruby.

“How long will you be gone?” Ruby asked quietly, her gaze dropping to her fidgeting hands.

Yang crossed the room in two long steps and enfolded Ruby into a firm embrace. She cradled her head against her shoulder as Ruby gripped her back just as fiercely, her shoulders shaking ever so slightly as the tears came.

“Ruby, I’ll be back,” she whispered. “I promise you. I’m going to come back for you. I’m hoping it’s not going to take too long and I don’t want to give you a timescale in case I don’t meet it. Ruby,” Yang pulled back slightly and cupped her sister’s face so that she could stare into her eyes, “wild Grimm could never keep me away from you longer than necessary. I promise you with my whole heart that I am going to whatever it takes to come back for you as soon as I can.”

Ruby blinked and frowned. “Come back _for_ me? Why? Are we going somewhere?”

Yang sighed. “Possibly.”

“You’re not telling me the whole story, Yang,” Ruby accused. “You’re going away to who knows where for who knows how long and you’re keeping things from me!”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry, Ruby. I don’t want there to ever be secrets between us, I honestly don’t! I’m worried that you’re too much like me and you’ll do the exact thing that I don’t want you to do because it’ll put you in harm’s way and if anything happened to you, Ruby, _Gods_ , I don’t know what I’d do.”

“And you don’t think that I fear that every single time you go out on a mission, Yang?” Ruby replied, her gaze open, honest and hurt.

Yang remembered Maria telling her that Ruby had grown up a lot. She was starting to see that.

“You don’t think I worry every single night that when I say goodbye to you that it may be the last time I ever get to hug you or see you?”

“Ruby…”

“I know you’re a solder and I know you have a duty and I know that you feel you owe a debt to the king for rescuing us all those years ago but Yang, when do you get to start living your own life and not one in service of me or King Ironwood?”

Yang swallowed the lump in her throat. “Well, when did my little sister get all big?” she attempted to joke.

Ruby’s expression didn’t change. “I grew up when you weren’t here, Yang.”

_Shit. This isn’t going at all the way I planned._

Ruby pulled away and walked to Yang’s bed, sitting on the edge. “You raised me. You’re the only blood family I have and I want to trust you but you don’t trust me enough to tell me the whole truth. Does what the king wants matter more than our relationship?”

“You’re right,” Yang murmured, leaning against the door. “You’re absolutely right. If there’s one person in the entire world that I should trust, it should be you. It _is_ you, Ruby,” she amended.

“But there are things you aren’t telling me.”

Yang sighed. She was at a crossroads and both options left her at odds. She could tell Ruby and risk Ruby doing something impulsive while she was away, or she could not tell Ruby and potentially ruin her relationship with the most important person in the world to her.

“Okay,” Yang said, nodding slowly, making a decision. “Okay, I’m going to tell you everything. But Ruby, you have to _promise_ me that you’re not going to do anything while I’m gone. Nothing rash, nothing impulsive, nothing that will get you noticed. Do you understand?”

Ruby looked at her for a few moments before nodding. “Okay, I’ll keep doing things as normal. Nothing out of the ordinary. I’m a little concerned that you think this secret would make me act out. It makes me wonder if I even want to know what you’ve gotten yourself involved in.”

“Well, it’s a long story.”

“Does it involve you sleeping with Queen Winter?”

Yang blinked. “Uh, I, uh…what?”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “You seriously think I didn’t know? Please. You’re not as quiet as you think you are. Besides, you don’t think I suspected something was up when you suddenly built me a house two years ago?”

“It was for your birthday,” Yang mumbled, feeling suitably mortified that her little sister had known of her indiscretion for years.

“I suppose we both got something out of it.” Ruby said with a smirk.

“Okay, okay. You do _not_ get to tease me about this. It’s…complicated with her.”

“Do you love her?”

“I care deeply for her and she loves me but…”

“Does she know that?” Ruby asked.

Yang nodded.

“Okay, good. Have you told her what you’re about to tell me?”

Yang nodded again. “She’s partly the reason why I’m going on this particular mission. I felt she needed to know. Plus…the king…he…”

“Yang, calm down.” Ruby was suddenly in front of her, placing cool hands over Yang’s fists. She hadn’t even realised that she’d clenched them.

“S-Sorry.”

“Don’t apologise,” Ruby replied walking them out of the bedroom and into the living room where she had the fire burning low, enough to keep the temperature inside the house comfortable. “Just tell me the truth.”

Yang sat down and told Ruby everything. She left nothing out (except the candid details of her affair, obviously). Ruby’s eyes got wider and wider until Yang finished.

“Holy shit,” Ruby murmured.

Yang blinked. “I’ve never heard you curse before.”

“That was the first time,” Ruby replied, still frowning. “Yang, how is all this even possible? How did no one know?”

“The king doesn’t have advisors. He makes all the decisions. He is ruler, lawmaker, treasurer, general of the army. He’s _everything_ in Vale.”

“But he definitely had help,” Ruby stated. “There’s no way that he could have done all this himself.”

Yang nodded. “I agree. I’m assuming that the person who wrote the note is an accomplice but I don’t even know who put it in my pocket, let alone who saw the queen leaving my house.”

“It’s hardly a secret entrance, Yang.”

“What do you mean? It literally goes from my house to the foot of the tower!”

“Yeah, and _everyone_ knows about it. These tunnels have been here since the kingdom was first built by the gods. Come on, Yang, I thought you were smarter than that.”

“Well, we seemed to fool the king for a number of years.”

“Yes, and he seems like a real stand up husband,” Ruby seethed.

Yang smiled at the determination burning in Ruby’s eyes. She was very familiar with it – it was a trait they shared. Ruby had gotten just as mad as she had when she’d mentioned what the king had done to Winter. Unlike Pietro and Maria who’d had an inkling about what the king was up to, Ruby had _no_ idea and was totally blindsided. Yang suspected the same could be said for the majority of the kingdom. In fact, it could probably also be said for her fellow soldiers. She doubted the army had even entertained that possibility that they had been training, losing comrades, and getting hurt for a war that didn’t even exist.

King Ironwood had blinded all of them and Yang was going to show him up and smile all the while. She wasn’t sure if the king had always been a tyrannical sociopath, but she certainly knew that she would never trust him again, even if he had rescued her and Ruby from certain death on Patch.

“Yang, are you sure about this monster?” Ruby asked quietly. “I mean, what if it is an Immortal? How do you defeat something that can’t die?”

“I…haven’t really figured that bit out yet. There’s a part of me that isn’t sure it’s even real. Immortals are steeped in myth. There’s never been any prove of their existence. What if it’s just scare tactics? Like I told Maria and Pietro, who’s to say that this isn’t something that the missing made up just so that a search party would be discouraged?”

Ruby nodded thoughtfully. “It’s plausible.”

“For all we know, he could just have a sniper hiding I the forest ready to pop one in my skull as I ride past,” Yang joked. The look on Ruby’s face immediately told her that it was a _terrible_ joke. “Shit, Ruby, that was… I’m sorry. That was a terrible attempt at humour on my part.”

Ruby just sighed and looked down. “I know your default in a stressful situation is to be humorous but please don’t treat this as a joke, Yang. This is your life and that is the single most important thing in the world to me.”

Yang shuffled closer to Ruby. “I feel the same about you and I promise that I’m going to do what I can to come back to you safely. I mean it, Rubes. You’re not gonna be able to get rid of me as easily as you thought.”

Ruby pulled her legs up onto the chair and snuggled into Yang’s side. “I’d be quite happy to never be rid of you, Yang. I love you.”

Yang smiled and pressed a kiss to her sister’s head. “I love you too.”


	4. Chapter 4

Yang opened her eyes slowly and took in a calming breath. She didn’t often meditate while she was home but the last two days had been extremely taxing for her and her nerves were on edge. She was due to leave in about three hours. Her soldiers had been briefed on the basics of the mission. She’d picked her ten most trustworthy men and planned to tell them everything once they were well away from the kingdom.

She’d stayed awake late formulating a route for them to take. She had to consider the fact that the king likely had spies everywhere along their route so if she headed straight for Mountain Glenn, he may become suspicious. She couldn’t afford for him to have _any_ suspicions about how much she actually knew. She and Ruby had spent the last two evenings together and Yang had reassured her whenever Ruby got a little worried that she had the biggest incentive to come back. And Yang knew that the desire to get back to Ruby would always drive her that much more to achieve her goal. Maria’s words unwillingly echoed in her head every time a rogue negative thought entered her head.

Taking another deep, calming breath, Yang stood up.

“That’s not going to happen,” she said in a low, firm voice to herself. “I will come back.”

She spent the next half hour packing her bag and methodically cleaning and reloading her weapons. Knowing that she had a big fight on the horizon – even though she was still a little dubious about there being an Immortal being waiting for her – Yang packed in all her reserve ammo. She wasn’t taking any chances. She adjusted the gauntlets on her wrists and smiled. Ruby had worked tirelessly to make sure that the prototype was ready for Yang to take with her. She’d done a brief test run the previous day and if it was possible to fall in love with a weapon, Yang had. The gauntlets felt like extensions of her arms, even more so than her beloved shotgun and axe. She felt practically invincible wearing them – not that she’d ever tell Ruby that. Her sister would berate her for not taking things seriously.

Yang begged to differ. The last two days she had spent a lot of time ignoring the scariest _what if_ of all – what if she did die? She was extremely aware of the risk she was taking. Knowing what was waiting for her – if there even was anything like an Immortal – gave Yang a head start. She had an idea of what to expect.

_Okay, so the fact that she’s an Immortal may make things difficult but everyone, Immortal or not, has a weakness. I just need to figure out what hers is._

Perhaps she was lonely and Yang could offer her services in a different way? Yang rolled her eyes at herself, closing the flap on her bag and buckling it tightly closed.

“Yeah, right. What even are the chances that I would find an immortal beast hell bent on destroying me attractive?”

* * *

Yang took a moment to gather herself as she stood outside the doors to the throne room. She knew that seeing the king would be difficult and if Winter was there as well, it would be even more difficult to maintain a poker face. Even though she had every intention of coming back to Vale for Ruby, Winter and as many others as she could. Pietro and Maria were right – if such a settlement existed where there were no laws and people were free, Yang wouldn’t hesitate to tell those left in the kingdom about it. She hated seeing them suffer and she felt immensely guilty at the role she’d played in perpetuating the lie of a war. She should have listened to her gut when her first suspicions arose about ten months previously.

_No, stop. Don’t go down that rabbit hole now. You have a long journey to Mountain Glenn where you can dissect everything. You need to concentrate._

She inhaled deeply and let it out slowly, keeping her eyes closed. She nodded to the page when she was ready and he opened the door.

“Captain Xiao Long, Your Highness!”

The king seemed quite relaxed as he sat comfortably in his throne. Yang spared a very quick glance at Winter, who looked as though she was sitting on a bunch of sharp rocks. Yang knew she didn’t want to be there and neither of them wanted to consider that this could be the last time they saw each other.

_No. Not thinking about that._

Yang saluted, keeping her face blank. “Good morning, Sire.”

“Good morning, Captain,” the king replied. Yang wasn’t sure if her imagination was just playing games with her but she could have sworn he sounded just a little smug.

_He thinks that he’s won. I’ll show him. Fucking prick._

“I’ll be leaving in about two hours, Sire,” she said clearly. “I don’t expect I’ll be gone too long. A month, at most.”

King Ironwood raised an eyebrow. “A month, you say?”

Yang nodded confidently. She couldn’t risk being too cocky lest the king ensure that she encountered more adversaries along her way to ensure that she didn’t come back. “As you know, I’m very familiar with the layout of Sanus so I think the best approach would be to head to the eastern coast in case the missing made the crossing to Anima. I’ve been to the port there several times. Merchants are easily swayed to allow passengers on board if they have the lien. I think it’s a solid start. There are plenty of small settlements around Lake Matsu. If I don’t have luck at the port, I’ll zig zag to the west coast and back to the east coast and so on as we travel down to Vacuo.”

The king nodded. “Very well.”

“Do you want me to send word of my progress? Or shall I wait until I return to debrief?” Yang asked.

The king stroked his beard. “I trust you, Captain.”

_Bullshit._

“You can update me upon your return.”

“Understood.” Yang saluted to the king and then, to King Ironwood’s surprise, she saluted to Winter as well.

While it wasn’t insubordination since the Queen was effectively also her superior in royalty alone, Yang was fairly certain that no one had ever extended the prestige of a military salute to Queen Winter – a symbol of loyalty to the throne and the military, as had been impressed upon Yang on her first day of the army.

“I’ll see you soon,” Yang said, her eyes on Ironwood, but her words were for Winter.

Both she and Winter knew better than to push any further boundaries so Yang spun on her heel and walked briskly out of the throne room. She could feel Winter’s eyes on her and as much as Yang wanted to turn around and reassure her that she would be fine, she couldn’t risk it.

She had so much to lose and as much as her pride hated it, she needed to bite her tongue and play by the king’s rules. She smirked to herself as she imagined the look on his face once she returned and stole his wife away from under his nose. She sent the page a wink as she passed and he returned it.

_The people in the kingdom will rally with me. I just need to give them a reason to hope. I need to come back and give them an alternative to this life._

Yang turned to Pietro’s workshop and dropped her bag next to the front door as she entered.

“Yang!” Pietro and Maria greeted with a smile.

“Coffee?” Maria offered, holding up a cup.

“Actually, yeah, that’s be great. Thank you.” She glanced around. “Where’s Ruby?”

“She’s trying to bargain with the blacksmiths to show her how the blend Dust into metal for her scythe,” Pietro responded with a smile.

“I thought she already knew how to do that?”

“Oh, she does. She actually just wants to steal some of their Gravity Dust.”

Yang gasped and then laughed. “Nothing will stop Ruby when she wants something.”

“She promised she’d be back to see you off,” Maria said, handing Yang a steaming cup of coffee.

“I can always find her on my way out if she doesn’t. I know she loses track of time when she’s working,” Yang said with a chuckle.

“No idea who could possibly have encouraged that kind work ethic,” Maria said dryly, pressing a light kiss to Pietro’s cheek. He immediately blushed and Yang felt the pull in her stomach as she wished that she had that.

She knew that she would know the second she saw her, the woman with whom she was meant to spend the rest of her life. A small part of her heart still wondered if that woman would be Winter once they were away from the castle walls and if it was, Yang wouldn’t be disappointed.

She was only twenty-three and had a long life to live where she would undoubtedly cross paths with many women.

“Are you ready?” Maria asked her.

Yang nodded. “I went to the houses of the missing and there was nothing to indicate that they had left in a rush. It looks like it was planned.”

Pietro nodded. “That tracks with what Nora and Ren said to us.”

“The last recorded departures were Saphron and Terra Cotta-Arc. Didn’t they have a little boy too? Adrian, I think? I didn’t see any baby stuff in their house so I’m assuming he’s with them.”

“Yes, there’s no way they would have left Adrian with anyone here if they were leaving. They had enough trouble conceiving,” Maria replied

“Saphron is Jaune’s older sister, right?” Yang asked.

“For someone who spends more time out of this kingdom than in it, I’m impressed at how you remember the details.”

Yang felt her cheeks warm at Pietro’s rare praise. “Well, after speaking to you two, I’ve been thinking a lot and it’s not fair that I come back for certain people and leave the rest to deal with a tyrant.”

“Yang,” Maria said in a warning tone.

“I know, I know. It’s all speculative at the moment but I’m actively thinking about the possibility. I don’t know what I’m going to find so it’s all a what if game right now. But if the opportunity presents itself, I’m grabbing it with both hands. If I have the chance to make a difference to the lives of the people in this kingdom, I will.”

“Well, now. When you say it like a true leader, how can I stop you?” Maria said with a fond smile. “I always knew you had it in you to be more than a pawn in his army.”

“A high-ranking pawn,” Yang interjected with a smile.

Pietro chuckled. “The people respect you, Yang. You have never treated anyone like a second-class citizen, regardless of where they were born, how many stars are on their jackets or how much lien is in their pocket. If you have something to tell them, they’ll listen to you.”

Yang swallowed the lump of emotion that had swelled up in her throat. “Uh, thank you. Both of you, I can’t thank you enough for raising Ruby to be such a wonderful-“

“Now hold on, young lady,” Pietro interrupted. “Don’t be giving us any of that credit when it was you who raised her and saved her life.”

Yang pulled her mouth to one side. “Technically the king saved our lives. Even if he is an unscrupulous excuse for a human being, I can’t deny that.”

“He found you and Ruby in the middle of a graveyard after a battle that he started,” Maria amended. “Don’t forget that we’ve been around long before he became King Ironwood. His father was killed in that battle and no one has ever been able to find out how.”

Yang’s eyes went wide. Could the king’s deceit really stretch back that far? She hadn’t paid much attention to Ironwood’s father, given that she’d never known him, and made a point to do the necessary research upon her return. The more ammunition she had against the king, the easier it would be to convince the people to leave.

“I honestly didn’t know,” Yang said, “but I will inform myself when I come back. Right now, my attention needs to be on whatever is waiting for me south of Mountain Glenn.”

Maria nodded. “Did you give the king different co-ordinates like we suggested?”

“Yeah, that was a really smart idea. We’ll head east out of the kingdom and double back south-west after dark. My men and I know this part of the kingdom very well. We’ll be able to head due south and away from extra attention by tomorrow morning. We can’t travel too quickly given that I’m not sure what’s out there now so I envision we’ll reach Mountain Glenn in maybe three days. Two and a half if we really push. But I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

“Totally understandable. That sounds like a solid plan. I really hope that whatever you do find, you’ll be careful.”

“Of course,” Yang said seriously. “I’m not going to do anything that may jeopardise my return. I won’t do that to Ruby.”

“Well, good.” Maria grinned. “Now how about we give you a proper sending off.” She shuffled into the small kitchen and Yang grinned when she returned with a familiar blue bottle. Maria poured out the liquid into three small glasses and handed one to her husband and one to Yang.

“Safe passage and swift return,” Pietro said, holding up his glass to Yang.

“And for goodness sake, don’t die,” Maria added, raising her glass as well.

Yang laughed. “Thank you.” She threw back the shot and savoured the cool burn of the liquid going down her throat. “Hmmm. One day you’ll have to teach me how you make that, Maria.”

“Come back to us and maybe I will,” Maria replied, touching her nose and winking.

Yang touched her own in response and smiled. She honestly couldn’t have wished for better substitute parents. She was going to do right by them, make them proud of her.

“Yang!”

She turned around at her name and smiled at Ruby’s look of relief.

“Oh, I was so scared I’d missed you!” Ruby threw her arms around Yang’s neck and Yang tried to hug her back but there was a massive object strapped to her.

“Uh, Rubes, I feel like your scythe may slice my arm off so I’m not gonna hug you until you take it off,” Yang said, laughing nervously. She knew the potency of Ruby’s weapons and had no doubt that the scythe was already extremely sharp.

“Whoops!” Ruby giggled, pulling the weapon off her back with an ease that made Yang both worried and proud.

They embraced properly and Yang felt the last bit of apprehension leave her as she accepted that she had done everything in her power to prepare her loved ones for this moment.

“It’s gonna be okay, Ruby,” Yang murmured, holding her sister tightly. “I’ll be back before you even have a chance to miss me.”

Ruby pulled back slightly and Yang’s heart ached at the tears she saw running down Ruby’s cheeks. “I don’t doubt your will to return, Yang. I’m worried about the forces out there that won’t let you.”

Yang nodded. “I understand. I am constantly thinking about what it is that I may be facing. I’ll be ready. I promise you that I am going to do _everything_ in my power to come back to you. I want the people in this kingdom to have a chance at a free existence. Living like this with taxes increasing every month, most citizens barely scraping by, it’s not right.”

Ruby smiled brilliantly. “You’d make a great leader, Yang. And I’d follow you anywhere.”

Yang kissed Ruby’s forehead. “I know you would. I love you, Ruby. Be safe, okay?”

“I will,” Ruby vowed, hugging Yang tightly once more.

_Gods, I need to go now before I lose the will to._

Yang absolutely hated the idea of leaving Ruby behind. She hated not knowing what could happen. She hated that Ironwood had direct access to Ruby and Pietro and could command them to do anything. She didn’t doubt that Ruby would find a way to make something that didn’t work for the king but all the _what ifs_ were driving her crazy.

“Yang, I think you need to make your tracks,” Maria eventually said.

“Yeah.” Yang’s voice cracked as she stepped away from Ruby. “That scythe is super impressive. Keep working on that so that you can take it with you when we leave.”

Ruby grinned and nodded.

“I love you,” Yang said seriously.

“I love you too,” Ruby replied, her voice going quiet and fear creeping into her eyes again.

Yang hated that she couldn’t stick around to reassure her – or even better, not go at all. It was no longer just about her and her slight against the king. There was so much more at stake.

Yang stepped back fully from Ruby and nodded at Pietro and Maria. She knew that she didn’t need to say anything to them. They both smiled at her nodded in response.

“See you soon,” Yang said softly, turning on her heel and walking out the door, fighting the urge to look back.

* * *

“Slow it down!” Yang called, bringing Bumblebee out of her full gallop and into a slow trot. Her soldiers behind her responded immediately. Yang glanced around. They’d been riding hard for about four hours due east towards the port she’d told Ironwood was her destination. The pace that she’d set since leaving the kingdom walls didn’t really allow for anyone to follow them but that wasn’t to say that the king hadn’t sent scouts out immediately after her meeting with him early that morning.

They approached one of the many tributaries that led to the eastern ocean and Yang slid easily off Bumblebee, guiding her to the edge. She wanted them to rest for a bit before the sun started dipping lower in the sky and they could make their way back towards Mountain Glenn with a good pace.

“Take twenty minutes, guys,” she called. “Eat some food, make sure you and your horses get enough water because this is going to be the make or break ride.”

Yang had outlined the route to her soldiers and while she could see the confusion on their faces, none of them had questioned her. She owed it to them to come clean.

“Gather round for a sec,” she said, clearing her throat. She looked at each of them. “I chose you for this mission for a reason. This is not one of King Ironwood’s usual missions.” She took a deep breath. “What I’m about to tell you is the truth. I know it may seem ridiculous but it’s true. I should have come clean back in Vale but you’ll understand why I couldn’t once you hear what I have to say.”

She told them everything. She could see the anger and despair on their faces as they heard they were fighting in a war that didn’t exist. Yang knew six of her soldiers had lost their fathers to the war. She came clean about her affair with Winter as well because she knew that they would ask questions as to why the king suddenly wanted her fighting some immortal beast. In order for the mission to have a chance of success, Yang had to trust her soldiers completely and in turn, they needed to know they could trust her.

“This is crazy, Cap,” Jack, one of her softer-spoken men, said once she’d finished. He was her lieutenant and didn’t say much but when he did, it was with a quiet conviction that garnered respect from the group.

“It is,” Yang agreed. “It’s insane, actually. If any of you have something you’d like to say to me, please do so now. At ease.”

“I’m mad at Ironwood for screwing over the kingdom for so long but I’m more impressed with the fact that you managed to tap Queen Winter,” another soldier said with a disbelieving snort.

Yang narrowed her eyes. “I would assume that you are well aware of my attitude regarding women and how they should be treated. You respect the hell of them, no matter who they are. If you speak of Queen Winter like that again, and you’ll find yourself in a world of hurt.” To emphasise her point, Yang twisted her wrist, activating one of the gauntlets. Her men were very well aware of Ruby’s engineering talents and the potency that her weapons possessed.

“Understood, Captain. I meant no disrespect, honest.”

“Glad to hear it.” Yang disengaged her weapon and folder her arms across her chest. “I don’t know what’s waiting for us after Mountain Glenn so when we reach the abandoned city, we’ll rest for a few hours, fully arm up and head off.”

Her navigator glanced up at the sun. “We could probably start heading south-west now,” he said. “There’s a lot of unexplored wasteland between us and Mountain Glenn and we could probably save ourselves at least half a day by staying away from the existing trails. And the likelihood of us being tracked reduces considerably.”

Yang nodded. “A good plan. We’ll handle anything that causes us trouble. Remember to conserve your ammo as much as possible. The sooner we get to Mountain Glenn, the better.” She paused and looked at each of them. “Are you all okay? I don’t mind staying here a little longer while you process what I’ve told you.”

“I’m mostly pissed as hell,” another soldier muttered. “I lost my father and my brother in the same damn battle.”

“I lost my father in a training exercise with Fire Dust.”

“Mine went missing after a Grimm destroyed his transport. He was only a few miles from the kingdom.”

Yang pursed her lips as her soldiers listed those they’d lost to Ironwood’s pointless war.

“Remember that anger for when it matters,” she said firmly. “We’re going to make this right. We’re going to honour all of those we have lost by setting everyone else free.”

“Aye, Captain!” her men shouted, standing up and saluting as one.

Yang felt a surge of pride and affection for the men that she trusted more than anyone else in the army.

“Thank you. We ride out in ten.”

* * *

Two days later, Yang sat with Geo, her navigator, in one of the taller – and still intact – buildings in Mountain Glenn.

“I can’t see anything that would look out of place,” Geo murmured. “The topography is forest for pretty much as far as I can see.”

Yang nodded. “That makes sense. We don’t know how far south this settlement is. Might have to go over that hilled bank in the forest.”

Geo hummed and looked down at his map. “Nothing that would deter a settlement there. In fact, having a partial incline to the north would be beneficial if they’re hiding. Perhaps there’s a valley.”

“Lots of speculation,” Yang murmured. “We may as well find out what’s there. By my estimations that hill is what, fifty miles away?”

“I’d say sixty-five.”

“Of course you would,” Yang replied with a smirk. “We can do that in a few hours.”

“Arriving here in the morning has worked in our favour because we can take our time approaching the part of the journey that is largely unknown.”

“Exactly.” Yang jumped down from the ledge she and Geo had been perched on to get a better view of the surrounds. “Benji better not have overcooked my eggs again.”

Geo chuckled. “You persist in tasking him with breakfast when you know he burns it every single time.”

Yang grinned. “He’ll learn eventually.”

She and Geo climbed carefully down the building and joined the rest of her soldiers.

“Cap! I didn’t burn them!” Benji rushed up to her with a plate of steaming scrambled eggs, delightfully uncharred.

“Amazing. Knew you could do it.” Yang held up a fist which Benji bumped enthusiastically. She grabbed some in her fingers – utensils were a luxury rarely used when they were travelling – and dropped it in her mouth. As she chewed, Geo watched her expressions with amusement.

Yang struggled to swallow and immediately took a long swig of water from her canteen.

“Too much salt?” Geo queried.

Yang nodded. “One hurdle at a time. Benji’s gotta impress Violet’s dad with his cooking skills otherwise he’ll never give Benji his blessing to marry her.”

“Who knew you were such a romantic, Cap?” Geo teased.

Yang flicked some egg into his face and chuckled when he started protesting about his glasses getting dirty.

Within the hour, the small camp had been packed up and no trace remained that they had even been there. Yang was very skilled at covering her tracks. Many of her missions for Ironwood had her finding someone or something. Geo was incredible with his navigation but Yang was an amazing tracker. She knew how to keep her own tail clean as well. Her soldiers had slowly picked up some of her skills which was why she trusted them so easily. She knew they had her back, just like she had theirs.

“Hourglass,” Yang called from the front, her eyes peeled for any unusual movement. Behind her, her soldiers shifted into the formation. Jack took up his position on her left which meant that she could focus her attention on the right flank.

Daylight made things easier to see but Yang wasn’t worried about what she could see; she was looking out for things that she _wasn’t_ able to see. Scouts, snipers, bandits, even a select few Grimm species – they all had high skill levels in not being seen. While she didn’t believe that they had been followed, she wasn’t taking any risks.

The open expanse around the ruins of Mountain Glenn soon gave way to trees and eventually, a thick forest. The daylight that had assisted them was suddenly very limited with the tall, thick branches blocking out most of it.

Yang kept her breathing calm as she led Bumblebee towards the hill.

“Movement north-west,” Geo said, quietly enough for the group to hear. Because none of them were making any excess noise, Geo’s words reached them all easily.

“Steady,” Yang replied. She didn’t want them to veer off course because of a single movement. If that movement developed into a real threat, then she’d redirect.

She felt the change in the terrain as they started climbing the hill. It was a gradual incline so nothing too taxing for the horses. There had been no further reports of movement, for which Yang was grateful and also wary. She didn’t know what would be waiting for them over the hill, if anything.

_If it’s nothing, you can cross that off the map and carry on searching._

Bumblebee suddenly grunted and tossed her head. Yang was immediately on high alert. Bumblebee was attuned to the vibrations underneath her hooves and Yang had learned early on in their partnership to trust her horse’s intuitions.

A whiff of something burning caught her attention and Yang sniffed the air again. It was a campfire, for sure. She didn’t see any smoke so it was probably one that had been put out recently.

“Weapons up!” Yang commanded in a low voice, readying her gauntlets and unbuttoning her coat for easy access to her shotgun, grenades and axe. Her pistols were generally her last resort weapons.

She heard the subtle sounds around her of her soldiers locking and loading. Their weapons had been at the ready since leaving Mountain Glenn.

“Easy, Bee,” Yang murmured, rubbing Bumblebee’s neck as she started snorting and grunting quite a lot.

_Here we go._

Yang saw a few trees that had broken branches and leaves scattered on the ground. Whoever was close, they were careless in covering their tracks.

_I suppose an immortal beast doesn’t have much to be afraid of, especially in their own forest._

Yang heard the sound of a crossbow being fired and instinct had her leaning back. A silver arrow with an intricate red design on the tail flew passed her face.

“Shields!” she commanded in the same low voice.

She twisted a dial on Bumblebee’s saddle and immediately, armour shot out on either side to protect her horse’s flanks. Yang and her soldiers were very capable fighters and their horses were part of their little family. They ensured protection for them as much as themselves.

Yang heard another crossbow being fired and raised her right arm, the arrow deflecting off the metal of her gauntlet.

_An Immortal that uses a crossbow? I think that we’re going to have to go through a welcoming party first._

Yang kept her eyes firmly trained on the area to her right from where the arrows had originated. Suddenly, emerging from the bushes and trees, bandits surrounded them.

“And where d’you think _you’re_ going, Goldilocks?” a tall, skinny one jeered.

Yang smirked. _This is going to be fun._

* * *

Blake stirred awake at the insistent shaking of her shoulder.

“This had better be good,” she grumbled, sitting up. Her sleep the previous day had been terrible, plagued once again by nightmares.

“Kline just told me that a fight has broken out on the top of Belladonna Hill,” Weiss said in a worried tone.

“I hate that name,” Blake muttered, rubbing her eyes.

“Blake!” Weiss huffed.

“What, Weiss? Scuffles break out all the time in the forest. Why are waking me three hours before sunset to tell me this?”

“The party of raiders that attacked Pyrrha and Nora yesterday are engaging with a group of soldiers.” Weiss gripped Blake’s hand. “They’re Vale Army, Blake.”

Blake sighed. “Fine.” She pushed back the covers and shrugged off her sleeping clothes – shorts and a tank top. She pulled on her usual hunting attire – black jeans, a black polar neck and dark purple jacket. It was long, almost touching the floor. Blake pulled the hood up and winked at Weiss. “Let’s go and scare some soldiers, shall we?”

Weiss rolled her eyes as she followed Blake out of her bedroom.


	5. Chapter 5

Yang ducked as a raider fired a shot from his rifle and the bullet sailed over her head. She returned the favour by tumbling over to him and sucker punching him in the gut. He groaned and doubled over. Yang smirked. She always enjoyed going up against opponents that underestimated her on sight because she was a woman.

She fired a shot from her gauntlet and relaxed her arm at the recoil. A sudden thought entered her mind and she took a second to contemplate the repercussions of what was likely a dangerous plan.

_No. You need to not be taking risks, even if you’re an accomplished fighter._

Yang rolled her eyes at Maria’s voice in her head. But she was right. Yang couldn’t afford to be reckless. While she and her men were making quick and easy work of the raider party that had chosen to engage with them – something they were probably regretting – Yang was mindful of the battle still to come.

She glanced around and saw that all but one raider had been subdued. She stood up fully and approached him slowly. He was very skittish and likely one of the newer additions to the party. He was gripping a saucepan tightly.

“You’re outnumbered, bud. Why don’t you put that pan down and we can talk this through?” she said calmly.

His hands were visibly shaking and Yang knew that she would need to calm him down lest his panic attract the multitudes of Grimm that she knew resided in the forest.

“Hey, if you talk to us, we’re not gonna hurt you,” Yang continued, holding up her hands as a sign of good faith.

“B-B-But you’re soldiers,” the boy stammered, gripping onto the pan as though it was his lifeline.

“We are,” Yang replied. “But we’re not here for you.”

“You’re not?”

Yang sighed. “Look, buddy, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what’s gonna happen if you don’t chill out. So why don’t you put down the pan and we can talk. Calmly.”

“No way. She said that all soldiers are killing machines, brainwashed by the king.”

_She? The Immortal?_

“What if I told you that we’re probably the only soldiers in Vale that aren’t brainwashed? What if I told you that we’re probably on the same side?” Yang figure that it wouldn’t hurt to try and get on the beast’s good side and maybe avoid a fight entirely.

“I’m not an idiot!” the boy shouted and Yang closed her eyes briefly to keep her frustration in check. “You’re going to torture me for information but I won’t give in to you! I’ll take my loyalty to Cinder to the grave! Do what you like, soldier scum!”

“He’s becoming hysterical, Captain,” Jack warned.

“I think he’s well past hysterical,” Yang muttered back. “Be ready for Grimm. This guy’s probably broadcasting loud and clear to them.”

“Or you could put him down and save us the trouble,” Jack replied.

“Incoming, Cap!” Benji yelled.

Yang and Jack whirled around and saw two Nevermore quickly approaching from the north.

“Shit,” Yang swore loudly. “Alpha team, focus on those Nevermore. Bravo team, watch the trees. Where there are Nevermore that size, there’s bound to be more Grimm on the ground. Comms up.”

Jack reloaded his rifle. “What about you, Cap?”

Yang pulled out her shotgun. “I’m going to shut this moronic broadcaster before he brings the entire population of Grimm to us.”

She stalked over to the boy, who tried to swing at her with his pan and failed spectacularly. She kicked it out of his hands easily and levelled her shotgun at his face.

“Where’s your boss lady?” she asked in a low, angry voice.

* * *

Blake jumped from tree to tree, ignoring the dull pain in her head. After so many years, she was used to the discomfort of the sun. The full moon had passed only a few days before so she was still feeling fairly strong. Kline knew to have a ready supply for them when they got back from resolving whatever kerfuffle had begun on the hill.

The raiding party that had attacked Nora and Pyrrha the day before hadn’t got what they wanted – Nora and Pyrrha were strong women easily capable of holding their own in a fight. Blake smirked at the memory of Nora taking down an Ursa Minor her first day at the settlement.

Jumping another two trees, Blake finally saw the peak of the hill where a woman with sun-kissed hair had a shotgun aimed straight at a boy’s head. He was shaking terribly and Blake pursed her lips. She knew that he was probably with the raiding party that lay unconscious all around the woman, who seemed to be alone.

_Interesting…_

“Just tell me where your boss is,” the woman said.

Ordinarily, Blake wouldn’t have bothered eavesdropping but something about this woman gave her pause. She didn’t think that one woman could have taken out an entire raiding party without some help. She was a smart strategist and didn’t want to risk an ambush (even though she knew she’d be able to deal with them easily).

“I’m not saying anything!” the boy yelled back.

The woman sighed. “Look, I don’t want to hurt you. This doesn’t seem like your vibe. Were you born into a tribe?”

The boy seemed surprised and Blake could relate.

_Well, this just got interesting. A Vale soldier that doesn’t want to hurt someone?_

“What are you waiting for?” Weiss hissed from the next tree.

“Just wait,” Blake murmured. “Something’s different.”

“Cap, we have a herd of Death Stalkers incoming!” a man shouted from somewhere out of sight.

_I knew she wouldn’t be alone._

The woman spun her shotgun back into her belt and readied what looked to be gauntlets affixed to her forearms.

 _This is no ordinary soldier, that’s for sure,_ Blake thought.

“Bud, you need to get out of here. This isn’t a battle I want you getting caught in. Head west, towards the coast. There’s a small village about ninety miles. They’ll take care of you until you decide your next move, okay?”

“Y-You’re not going to kill me?”

“No. Why would I do that?”

“Because you’re a Vale soldier!”

The boy was asking all the questions Blake wanted answers to.

“I’m not like most soldiers,” the woman said quietly. “And I’m not in the business of killing people unless I have no other choice. You have a choice here. Make the right one.”

She didn’t bother waiting for a reply and ran into the forest.

Blake jumped to the ground, landing soundlessly and jogged after the woman. Within seconds she’d caught up to her and leaned against a tree as she watched the woman and some Vale soldiers easily dispatch three Death Stalkers.

“That’s what they call a herd?” Weiss asked, standing next to Blake.

Blake smirked. “It wouldn’t be the first time Vale soldiers have exaggerated to make themselves seem more capable.”

“What exactly are you waiting for, Blake?”

Blake lifted a shoulder and trained her eyes on the blonde woman again. Her fighting style was very smooth and she definitely was a formidable opponent. Blake knew the rumours that flew around Vale about her and she didn’t exactly discourage them. The woman seemed to be in charge so Blake watched her carefully, making sure to note any weaknesses.

After about ten minutes, she wondered if the woman even had any.

“She’s good,” Weiss said with a smirk.

“Thank you for that astute observation,” Blake snapped.

Weiss just chuckled. “Oh, please. If you do need to fight her, I’m sure it’ll be entertaining for the ten seconds it lasts.”

Blake felt the vibrations underneath her feet a good thirty seconds before six Ursai Major appeared from the north.

“This is much larger contingent of Grimm than there should be,” Weiss said.

Blake frowned and nodded her agreement. Grimm in the forest were very common but two Nevermore, three Death Stalkers, six Ursai and who knew what else was a lot more than usual.

“Weiss, head back to the settlement. Something about this feels off. I’ll handle whatever this is but the settlement should be our priority.”

“Very well. Don’t be long.” Weiss disappeared immediately, leaving a small gust of wind in her wake. The movement caused the blonde woman, who had just taken down the last Death Stalker, to look up at Blake. Their eyes met and they both froze. It gave the approaching Ursa a free swipe at the woman. Blake tried to say something, _anything_ , but all her faculties seemed to fail her.

_What??_

The Ursa’s massive paw, with claws extended, connected the woman’s stomach and sent her flying thirty feet away, where she crashed into two of her own soldiers, sending them sprawling.

* * *

Yang hurt everywhere. Her head was spinning as she tried to push herself up. As she tried to sit up, the most excruciating pain shot down her legs. She blinked a few times and looked down at her stomach. Her shirt was ripped and there was an awful lot of red.

_Shit, is that blood? Is that my blood?_

“Nevermore attack!” someone yelled.

Yang looked up and saw the Nevermore circling above. One of them angled their wings downwards and Yang’s eyes widened. She knew from experience just how accurate those feather shards were. She ignored the pain and rolled onto her stomach, pushing herself to her feet as quickly as possible.

“Take cover!” she shouted just as an Ursa roared loudly, drowning her out.

_Fuck._

Yang unhooked a grenade from her belt, pulled the pin out and threw it towards three Ursai. They watched it land on the ground in front of them before it exploded, dissolving them into ash. Yang knew the Death Stalkers had already been dealt with and apparently her Alpha team hadn’t had any luck with the Nevermore.

Something rammed into her back and Yang cried out in pain as she was thrown forward – right into the trajectory of the Nevermore feather shards. She scrambled to her feet and readied her gauntlets.

“Are you kidding me?” she groaned when she saw what had knocked her over. Four Boarbatusks had their eyes trained on her. “Where the fuck did you all come from?”

Once again, she pushed away the pain and engaged the Boarbatusks. She was familiar with their make up as they frequented the small towns around the kingdom. Two immediately started charging her, and Yang disrupted their rolling forward by shooting two exploding Dust shells that pushed them into the air. She pulled out her axe and ran forward, dropping to slide on her knees as she slashed at their newly exposed underbellies. They dissolved into ash as she stood up and attacked the remaining two.

* * *

Blake was impressed with the woman’s stubbornness. After an Ursa swipe and Boarbatusk ram, she was fighting as though they were nothing. Blake knew better. She could smell how much blood she’d lost and even though her movements were still effective, they weren’t as sharp as they were before the Ursa attack.

Blake did feel a little guilty that she’d distracted the woman and left her vulnerable to attack. She was still holding her own, though, so Blake presumed she was tough. One of the Ursa saw Blake and started charging towards her. Blake levelled it with a glare and it promptly stopped, turned around and headed to the other soldiers.

Blake knew that she could step in and make quick work of the remaining Grimm but she also didn’t yet know why the soldiers were even there. They were a long way from home and after what she’d been told about the Kingdom of Vale and its army, she wasn’t about to risk her settlement.

Blake watched the remaining Ursai and Boarbatusks herd the soldiers into a circle and rolled her eyes. It was such an obvious move by the Grimm and she was surprised that the woman, who seemed to be pretty savvy, hadn’t picked up on the plan.

_She was somewhat distracted earlier._

Blake shook her head of the thought. She had no doubt that she’d be cleaning up a big mess in about five minutes.

“Shields up!” the woman called.

The soldiers pulled scabbards from their backs and Blake nodded, impressed, as they opened up into large shields.

“Benji, shield!” the woman yelled.

“It’s jammed, Cap!” a soldier replied and Blake could hear the fear in his voice.

 _Gods, he’s practically painting a target on himself,_ Blake thought with a shake of her head.

“Take mine.” The woman shoved her shield at the soldier.

“Cap, no.”

“That’s an order, Benji. Now calm the fuck down.”

_She’s definitely in charge, then. Interesting._

Blake had come across many Vale soldiers since taking up residence in the forest and she had yet to meet a woman in any leadership role. There had been a few female soldiers, sure, but this woman was clearly someone important.

The Nevermore screeched and released their feather shards. They rained down on the herded soldiers and Blake kept her breathing calm as, despite the shields, the dangerous accuracy of the Nevermore proved devastating. All the soldiers were down but Blake could tell they were all still alive.

_For now._

Blake stepped forward but paused when one of the figures started moving.

_No fucking way._

The blonde woman – Cap, she believed they’d call her – slowly pushed herself up. Blake counted nine feather shards sticking out of her body.

_She certainly is stubborn._

Cap walked away from her soldiers, who were also starting to slowly move, and fired some flares at the remaining Ursai. Blake blinked in surprise at the sudden burst of energy Cap exhibited.

_For someone with that many injuries, that’s some adrenaline boost._

She dispatched the three Ursai without much fuss and dropped to one knee. Blake felt her body itch to move forward, to help her or something. But she forced herself to remain still.

_Who is this woman?_

* * *

Yang felt very weak but knew she couldn’t afford to stop moving, not until her men were safe. She struggled to stand up on both feet again and took a deep breath. She looked to the tree line and saw the same woman still standing there.

_Who is she?_

Yang had been rooted to the spot by a beautiful woman before but what had transpired within seconds between them had been so much more than being rendered useless by a beautiful woman.

No, she wasn’t just beautiful. She was powerful. She was confident. The mystery surrounding her threatened to captivate Yang wholeheartedly and if she wasn’t careful, she’d be willing to jump along for the ride with little convincing.

She couldn’t afford distractions, as gorgeous and alluring as they were. Yang broke their eye contact with a willpower she didn’t think she even had. She didn’t want to look away. She wanted to walk right up to her and just stare forever. They didn’t even need to talk. Yang was content to merely observe, to take her in, to read her soul in her eyes.

“Focus,” she muttered to herself, looking at her soldiers and then up to the sky. The Nevermore were still circling and Yang knew that they wouldn’t survive another feather shard attack.

“Let’s go, men,” she called out firmly, pulling a shard out of her arm; she hadn’t even realised there were almost a dozen sticking out of her. Ruby had always marvelled at Yang’s adrenaline rushes. It was as though she didn’t feel any pain, regardless of how badly she’d been hurt.

 _Just gotta keep that rush going for a few more minutes,_ Yang thought.

“Cap, shit,” Geo murmured, taking her in.

“Geo, take Alpha team and go back to the hill. Make sure the horses are okay and check that the raiders we knocked out are safe.”

“Aye, Cap.”

“Jack, we need to figure out how to get to cover without-“

A loud scream cut Yang off and she whirled around, trying to figure out where the scream had originated.

“Due south,” Jack said confidently and Yang took off.

“Get the men to safety, Jack. Ascertain injuries and those that are able need to be on guard until I get back.”

She didn’t wait for a response as she ran through the trees. The scream echoed around her again but she was able to pinpoint the direction. Forests were tricky with sound. There were so many surfaces for noises to bounce off but Yang was an excellent tracker.

As she ran, she reloaded her gauntlet – she needed to thank Ruby for the invaluable help the weapon had given her – and her shotgun. She slowed down as she approached an embankment. She could see broken branches laying all around so whatever was there was big.

_Then there’s the Nevermore still circling us._

A bush in front of her had been completely decimated and the tree next to it lay at an awkward angle, some of the roots exposed.

 _This thing is big and strong,_ Yang said, taking a slow breath and refocusing. _Just a scratch. You’re fine. You’re strong, you’re capable and you’re gonna take this Grimm down._

Yang stepped around the half-fallen tree and kept her eyes sharp.

“We have to go!” a young voice pleaded.

Yang immediately headed in that direction. If there were kids involved, she was going to do whatever it took to keep them safe. She walked through another broken bush and met the eyes of a very angry, very big Beringel. Yang kept her eyes on the Grimm and side-stepped subtly to pinpoint where the kid was. She saw a small boy kneeling next to a woman and he was shaking her shoulder. She wasn’t moving.

“Hey, kid, you doing okay?” Yang called, keeping the Beringel’s attention on her.

“I-It’s my mom. She won’t g-get up.”

“I’m sure she’s gonna be fine, buddy. I need you to do something for me, though. I need you to run home.”

“No! I can’t leave her!” the boy cried out.

Yang could appreciate that dedication. “I know it’s scary. I will look after your mom and I’ll bring her back to you, okay?”

“Who are you?” the boy asked, sniffing.

Yang set her stance as the Beringel approached, growling lowly.

“Go! I’ll find you!” she shouted, firing two full rounds of Dust shells into the Beringel.

It roared and pounced. Yang dove out of the way and rolled back onto her feet. Her stomach didn’t appreciate the movement but Yang didn’t care. She needed to draw it away from the mother.

“Come on, you overgrown monkey,” she muttered under her breath.

She kept stepping slowly backwards, keeping her stance strong should she need to dodge something quickly. She knew that she had to be more patient than usual given how many injuries she’d sustained. It was a double-edged sword, though; Yang’s adrenaline was waning and the longer she put off taking care of the Beringel, the better the chance it had of beating her down in her weakened state. Once Yang was satisfied that there was sufficient distance between the mother and the Beringel, she fired her gauntlets, emptying the barrels. When the smoke cleared, the Beringel was missing an arm but was infinitely more angry.

“Whoops,” Yang muttered, pulling out her shotgun and knife. The shotgun shells were Fire Dust bullets so she hoped they would do the trick.

* * *

Blake sat on one of the low branches and watched Cap take on a Beringel. She’d already wounded it by taking off an arm which severely limited the attack power of the Beringel. She could smell that Cap was running on fumes and that one solid knock from the Beringel would be it for her.

She wasn’t sure why, but Blake couldn’t let that happen.

“Come on, monkey,” she heard Cap call, directly the Grimm’s attention to her.

_Why is she playing with it?_

Only then did Blake see another person laying on the ground, half-obscured by a fallen tree.

_She’s…distracting the Grimm away from an unconscious woman she doesn’t even know?_

Blake jumped down and sped to the woman. “Oh, Salem,” she murmured, touching Salem’s forehead. There was barely any warmth left in her cheeks but she was still alive. Blake sniffed once to determine an open wound of any kind but couldn’t find one. Gently, she felt around the back of Salem’s head and sure enough, there was a decent bump.

 _She’s severely concussed_ , Blake said to herself, glancing back at Cap who was aiming her shotgun at the Beringel.

_That’s not gonna do much unless-_

Blake got her answer as the unmistakable sound of Fire Dust bullets impacting the Beringel’s chest echoed in the small space. Cap fired twice and the Beringel roared, staggering onto a knee. Blake watched as Cap jumped onto the Grimm’s back, knife in hand and jammed it in the neck.

_She really is quite impressive._

Blake rolled her eyes at herself. Honestly, it wasn’t like she’d never seen an accomplished fighter before. Cap removed the knife and stabbed twice more and the Beringel grabbed at her with its remaining arm. That one arm still had incredible reach and it grabbed Cap’s arm, yanking her off and hurtling her onto the ground. Blake stood up but to her utter shock, Cap shifted from her awkward landing position. Blake lost count of how many open wounds Cap had and her shoulder had dislocated from where the Beringel had thrown her.

“I don’t go down that easy,” Cap muttered and Blake had to smile at the determination.

The Beringel roared and Cap quickly reloaded her left gauntlet. She pushed herself up and started running towards the Beringel, who charged towards her.

_Oh no._

The Beringel was three times Cap’s size. No way was she going to come out victorious. With a few metres between them, Cap shot her gauntlet into the ground, the Dust bullets propelling her into the air and over the Beringel’s head. Cap twisted while in the air and fired her shotgun at the Beringel’s head. The shot was clean and decisive and the Grimm dissolved into ash before it really had the chance to register what Cap had done.

Cap, however, didn’t seem to realise that she needed to land somehow. Blake’s eyes widened and she moved before her brain could tell her otherwise.

_No._

As fast as she was, the splintered tree pierced Cap’s midsection clean through before Blake could catch her.

“Shit,” Blake murmured.

Cap let out a ragged gasp.

_How is it possible that she’s still breathing?_

“Don’t move,” Blake ordered. “You’ve no doubt damaged several vital organs.”

Cap winced and Blake frowned at the blood trickling from her mouth.

“I’d say thanks for your help but you didn’t do a fucking thing,” Cap wheezed, coughing up more blood.

“Just don’t speak. You’re making your injuries worse.”

“I know my body’s limits,” Cap replied in a scarily sombre voice. “I’ve already pushed myself further than I ever have before. This is it for me.”

Blake blinked in surprise as tears started falling from Cap’s eyes.

“Um, look, there’s no guarantee that this is it. You’re the most stubborn fighter I’ve ever seen so there’s still a chance-“

“Look, beautiful stranger who refused to help me, these are likely my last few moments on this forsaken world so please could I ask you to do me a favour?”

Blake bit her lip and met Cap’s eyes, something she’d steadily avoided given what had happened the last two times.

_Holy shit._

She felt like she would do anything that she asked, which was _very_ unlike Blake.

“My sister, Ruby, is in Vale. She works for-” Cap started coughing and Blake found herself moving closer so that she didn’t have to strain herself so much. “She works for Pietro, the Chief of Engineering. Please tell her that I’m sorry I broke my promise. And that I’m sorry I couldn’t free them all.”

“Free them?” Blake wondered.

Cap’s eyes fluttered closed and Blake could hear her lungs struggling for air amongst all the fluid. She looked Cap over and gritted her teeth, making an impulsive decision that she really hoped wouldn’t come back to bite her in the ass.

Weiss was going to murder her. Hypothetically, of course. Sometimes being an Immortal sucked.

* * *

Weiss scanned the empty skies once more before jumping down from the manor tower spire without fuss. She could sense Blake’s return and made haste to the front of the manor house. She skidded to a halt when she saw Blake carrying the Vale soldier and covered in blood.

“It’s hers,” Blake said quickly, her yellow eyes wide and her pupils tiny.

Weiss sniffed and sighed in resignation. In the back of her mind, she’d feared that something like this would happen after seeing Blake’s intrigue with the very capable Vale soldier.

“Blake, I hope to the gods you know what you’re doing,” she muttered. “The other soldiers are in the medical centre. No fatalities.”

“Thanks, Weiss.”

Weiss arched an eyebrow when Blake continued to the manor house. She said nothing, though. They would have to discuss what Blake had done sooner or later and Blake was _very_ clearly focused on the girl in her arms.

Weiss was curious as to what had happened for the soldier to be covered in that much blood; clearly it had been enough to nearly end her life.

“How are you feeling?” Weiss eventually asked Blake, following her inside.

Blake moved quickly up to her room, surprising Weiss even more – only she and Kline had ever been into Blake’s bedroom.

“Uh, I’m fine,” Blake murmured distractedly. “Salem was hurt and she protected her from a Beringel. I-I’ve never seen one human do the things that she did.”

Weiss arched her brow. “And you decided to give her _more_ power? She’s a Vale soldier, Blake!”

Making sure that the soldier was comfortable on the bed, Blake turned to Weiss, her eyes flashing. “Do not lecture me about the decisions that I make or who I choose to Save.”

Weiss sighed. “You know that isn’t what I meant, Blake. Do you even know why she was in the forest? Why was she looking for you?”

“I think she’s trying to help the people of Vale. She wanted me to tell her sister, who lives in Vale, that she was sorry she couldn’t set them free.”

Given what they knew about Ironwood, that statement left little room for interpretation.

“How long will she need to recover?” Weiss asked.

“She was on the brink so probably three days, at least.” Weiss caught Blake’s small smile as she looked at the soldier. “Then again, she is quite remarkable so it could be less than that.”

Weiss rolled her eyes. “Good grief. I thought I’d have at least another decade of peace before you started moping over a girl.”

“That was a low blow, Weiss,” Blake murmured, pulling the soldier’s boots off carefully.

Weiss winced. “Yeah, it was. I’m sorry.” She paused. “I just really hope you know what this could mean. Not just for you, but for all of us.”

Blake turned and looked at Weiss. “In the moment, it felt as though this was the only choice.”

“Okay,” Weiss said, nodding. “That’s enough for me, Blake. You know that I trust your instinct implicitly.”

“I’m not so sure this was about instinct.” Blake whispered.

Weiss chose wisely to ignore that ticking time bomb. “I’ll tell Kline to ready something for us before bed.”

“I think I’m going to stay here with her,” Blake said.

“Probably wise,” Weiss agreed. “Be careful, Blake.”

She didn’t get a response.


	6. Chapter 6

Blake glanced up from her book as Cap jerked slightly on the bed. She was still unconscious and Blake expected that it would be at least another thirty-six hours before she awoke. It had only been sixteen hours since Blake had brought her back.

_Did I make a huge mistake in giving her so much extra power? Weiss does make a valid point; I don’t know her at all._

She had to trust her instinct, even though Blake suspected that her instinct had been under the influence of…something. She didn’t know what it was but Blake did know that the thought of Cap dying left an extremely bitter taste in her mouth. She couldn’t – wouldn’t – let that happen, especially after Cap had mentioned her sister and freeing Vale.

_Is that why she’s different? She’s actually one of the good guys? Is that what my instincts picked up on? Is that why I couldn’t stop watching her?_

“Blake.”

She startled out of her thoughts and pulled her eyes from Cap’s still form to Weiss, who had one hand on the knob of her bedroom door. Blake hadn’t even heard the door open.

“Weiss,” she greeted tiredly.

“A word?”

Blake sighed and forced herself to stand up, even though she didn’t want to. With a lingering look at Cap, checking that she was okay, Blake followed Weiss out of her bedroom.

“Blake, you’ve only had four hours of sleep in the last forty-eight,” Weiss murmured, resting a hand on Blake’s shoulder. “I think you should get some rest.”

Blake glanced back at the door.

“Kline and I will rotate looking in on her,” Weiss assured her. “I really doubt she’ll be awake for at least another day.”

“I don’t know. She’s the most impressive human I’ve ever seen.”

Weiss pursed her lips and Blake immediately knew that they were going to argue.

“Why did you Save her, Blake?” Weiss asked instead.

“I…I don’t know.”

“Bullshit. Yes, you do.”

Blake rolled her eyes. “I feel a tether of sorts to her. On two occasions we locked eyes and neither of us were able to do anything. We were just frozen. I felt as though I could stare at her like that forever.”

“You wanted to stare at her forever? That’s why you made her an Immortal?”

“No, Weiss. It’s more than that. If she is one of the good guys – and I believe that she could be – she could be the key to ending Ironwood’s tyranny.”

“Blake, the whole reason we’re out here is because you didn’t want to be involved in world politics anymore.”

“I didn’t want to be used as a _weapon_ anymore,” Blake corrected her, rubbing her temple as her headache throbbed.

“Look, what’s done is done. We need to consider how we’re going to handle the consequences of this. Are you going to explain everything to her?”

“Yes, of course,” Blake murmured.

“Blake,” Weiss warned.

“I will!” Blake insisted.

“Good. Because we have another, more urgent problem.”

“What?”

“Her soldiers, the ones that were injured, have been asking about her.”

“That’s expected.”

“Yes, except no one but this household knows that she’s here. Do you want me to go and talk to them?”

Blake looked carefully at Weiss. She was frazzled and Blake suddenly realised the impact that her decision was having on her friend.

“Weiss, I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m still so used to dealing with things like this on my own.”

“Old habits die hard,” Weiss muttered in reply. “I understand that nine hundred years of habits will be hard to kick in favour of our new normal but please, Blake.” Weiss took Blake’s hands in her own and squeezed them. “Please remember that you are no longer alone. I’m here for you, always.”

Blake smiled and hugged Weiss. “Do you think that I made a mistake?”

Weiss pulled back and looked at Blake for a while. “I won’t know that until she wakes up. I just want you to be careful. That connection between the two of you wouldn’t have worried me as much if she was still human.”

Blake nodded. “I understand your concerns. I can’t explain why I think that this is going to be a really good thing for us.”

“You mean for you,” Weiss said with a smirk.

“Oh, gods,” Blake muttered. “What are you, twelve?”

Weiss chuckled. “I haven’t been twelve for a long while, Lady Belladonna.”

“Then perhaps you should act your age, Princess Weiss,” Blake snipped back with a wry smile.

Weiss tapped her nose and winked. “Blake, please do me this favour. Sleep for a few hours. You need it. You need to recharge.”

“I’m fine, Weiss. I didn’t even fight. She fought everything and everyone.”

“You took out the Nevermore,” Weiss countered.

“I-“ Blake had admittedly forgotten that part. After Saving Cap, she was a bit delirious and had gone a little hyper. It was a similar kind of energy she felt after a monthly excursion but more a burst than the usual intense twenty-four hours she felt every month.

“Blake, get some sleep. I will go and talk to the soldiers and I will watch over your…pet.”

Blake’s eyes flashed and Weiss simply smirked in response. There was literally no one else on the planet that would get away with saying things like that to Blake.

“I don’t know,” Blake fretted, glancing back to her bedroom door.

“I would ordinarily suggest that you sleep in your own bed, even though there’s someone else in it. But I know you and I know that you will simply watch her.”

“You make a valid point.”

“I know.”

“Fine, but only for a few hours. Wake me up at sunset.”

Weiss chuckled. “Your body will automatically wake you up.”

“Weiss. Wake me up at sunset,” Blake said firmly. She was exceptionally tired and her body did need to desperately recharge so even the natural allure of sunset, which would be enough to wake her on any other day, may not do the trick.

Weiss knew Blake, there was no doubt – but no one knew Blake better than Blake herself. She knew her limits. She knew when her body was telling her something. There were times where she’d been too stubborn to listen and the consequences had not been pleasant.

“I’ll wake you up at sunset,” Weiss said and Blake could tell she was being honest – another perk of their Immortality was the ability to detect if someone was lying. Well, it was more the ability to detect changes in body temperature, breathing and heart rate.

“Fine. Try not to aggravate the soldiers, please.”

Weiss looked affronted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You don’t have a sunny disposition, Weiss,” Blake said tiredly, heading for Weiss’s bedroom down the hall.

“The vast majority of society possessing a severe lack of intellect is hardly _my_ fault,” Weiss called after her.

“It’s not about intelligence, Weiss. It’s about emotional tact. Patience.”

Weiss harrumphed and raised an eyebrow. Blake stepped inside the bedroom and closed the door behind her, thankful for the blackout drapes they’d hung soon after building the house.

 _Weiss can definitely handle the soldiers_ , Blake thought and she climbed onto the big four-poster bed similar to her own and settled against the pillows, her eyes already fluttering closed.

Mostly.

Probably.

* * *

“No!”

Yang’s eyes shot open and she sat up, her fists raised.

No one was there, though. There was no beast she was fighting, no Immortal being about to kill her. Yang tried to calm her breathing and looked around. She was in a pretty lavish bedroom; one she definitely didn’t recognise.

_Am I back in Vale? Is this the castle?_

Yang shook her head. Surely not. She closed her eyes, sat up straight and took a deep breath, forcing her body and mind to relax as she dug in the recesses of her memory.

_The beautiful woman…_

_The Beringel._

_She saved me…I think?_

Yang frowned as she opened her eyes once more. One thing she remembered very clearly was the number of serious injuries she’d sustained, only she didn’t feel any pain.

_How long have I been out?_

Yang pushed back the covers and glanced down. She was still in her bloody undergarments. Did that mean that she was in unfriendly territory? Her captors hadn’t even removed her bloody clothing? Swallowing nervously, Yang lifted her shirt and saw a large red mark where she’d been speared by that broken tree.

That was it.

Just a red mark.

Glancing around, Yang saw a large full-length mirror and headed towards it, pulling off what was left of her shirt and letting it drop to the floor. Her bra was stained red and Yang grimaced. She looked at her reflection and turned around. Similarly, with the tree wound, the scratches on her back from the Ursai were three red lines. There was no scab, no scar, no breaking of the skin at all.

“Something’s not right,” she muttered, twisting and turning her torso to check her flexibility.

She’d had many, many injuries before and her body was littered with scars because of them. She knew how long cuts and bullet wounds took to properly heal. But they always left a scar.

Yang absentmindedly fingered the scar on the inside of her left arm, just above the crook. Five years ago, she’d been helping Ruby with some experiments and some Fire Dust had unknowingly gotten on her clothes. When she’d started dinner later, the Fire Dust had exploded, shattering the glass on the countertop. The accident had left Yang with some nasty burns on her thighs and a piece of glass still embedded in her arm.

_Wait a second._

Yang looked down and watched, eyes unblinking as something underneath her scar started moving.

“What?” Yang asked in a fearful tone.

The scar split open and Yang winced at the pain she should have felt, but didn’t.

_I must still be dreaming. That has to be it. I’m still asleep or unconscious or whatever._

It was difficult, but Yang kept her breathing calm. A small piece of glass pushed itself up out of the cut and Yang rotated her arm so that the piece of glass fell into her right hand. She continued to stare in half-horror, half-amazement as the scar sealed itself once more and _disappeared._

Yang rubbed the area frantically. There was nothing there. No bump, no scar tissue, _nothing_. It was completely unblemished.

“What the actual fuck is going on here?” she whispered, looking at her reflection. She still _looked_ the same so that was a good thing, right?

Yang looked back at the bed, suddenly feeling the need to be protected. Her weapons were all stacked in a neat pile next to the nightstand. She reached for her gauntlets and felt a sharp tug in her gut. It wasn’t painful but more uncomfortable, like menstruation cramps that hadn’t quite started yet.

The tugging continued and Yang wondered if there was something wrong with her.

_What if there’s something inside me? What if that’s how the piece of glass got out? Oh gods, have I been infected?_

Yang was trying really hard to stay calm but her breaths started to quicken and she dropped the glass, heading for the door.

_I have to get out of here…wherever here is._

She turned the doorknob and stepped outside. The late afternoon sun lit up a long hallway. Yang looked around. The ceilings were all high and the detail was meticulous and very well kept.

_Jeez, who even lives in a place like this?_

Ironwood’s castle didn’t look this good. Considering that Yang wasn’t cold, she figured that wasn’t anywhere north of Vale. She knew for a fact that no buildings like this existed in Vacuo – it wasn’t their style so depending on how long she’d been out, she could be anywhere in between or even on Anima.

Yang’s gut started tugging again and she found her feet moving forward of their own accord.

_What the hell?_

She stopped in front of another door and frowned. She had no idea who or what was on the other side – did she just go in? Did she knock?

Her hand twisted the doorknob and she pushed it open gently. The room was dark but as soon as Yang squinted, she found that she could see quite clearly.

_Okay…_

She almost wished that she’d brought her weapons with her as she looked around the bedroom. It looked very similar to the one she’d been in. Her eyes settled on someone in the bed. Once again, her feet started moving and Yang swallowed her nerves.

Was it Ruby? Was that why she was being drawn there?

Yang forced her feet to stop moving about a foot from the bed. Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness – a lot quicker than she expected but she didn’t linger on that. Whatever was happening to her, she needed to gather her wits and get back in the driving seat of her own body. She was her own master. Nothing and nobody controlled her. Yang kept her breathing even as she leaned forward and pulled on the covers. They crept down to reveal the face of the person in the bed.

“You,” Yang breathed, standing up straight. She hadn’t even realised she’d gone into a defensive stance, fists at the ready.

It was the woman who’d saved her. The woman who’d watched her being attacked and mauled by multiple Grimm and hadn’t lifted a finger to help until the very end.

Yang frowned. She remembered a few moments when, during her fights, their eyes had met and it was like she’d been stunned. She couldn’t move, could barely breathe and Yang suddenly felt even more scared.

_Who is this woman?_

As though she’d heard Yang, the woman stirred and Yang instinctively took a big step away from the bed, half-heartedly raising her fists. She wanted to be more assertive but it was like her arms suddenly felt like heavy weights and it was a struggle to lift them.

_Is she doing that? Is she a witch? I didn’t think witches were real but that would sure explain a lot._

The woman breathed in deeply and Yang watched as her eyes shot open and she sat up straight with a speed that Yang didn’t think was humanly possible. It was like she was a blur.

She couldn’t stop the gasp that slipped from her mouth.

The woman’s eyes zeroed on her immediately. “Oh,” she breathed.

Yang chose not to say anything but gave up trying to lift her fists. It was too taxing on her strength and she wasn’t sure how much she’d need if something was about to happen.

“You…You’re awake,” the woman whispered.

_Why does she sound so surprised? Was I not supposed to wake up?_

“How long was I out?” Yang asked instead.

“A little under a day,” the woman replied quietly after a pause.

Two sensations hit Yang all at once. First, the shock of her injuries healing after less than a _day_ and second, the effect that the woman’s voice had on her. It was like her body suddenly felt warm, like she was safe, like she was home.

Yang shook her head. “No, that’s impossible.” She wasn’t sure which part of what she was feeling was impossible since Ruby was home. Vale was home. Not this strange castle place with this strange and beautiful woman that she couldn’t stop staring at.

The woman pushed back the covers and stood up from the bed. Yang stepped back but her thigh hit something – a dresser or something – and she couldn’t move any further. She tried lifting her fists again but they felt even heavier.

“Don’t try to fight me,” the woman said softly, holding out a hand but stopping herself before she touched Yang. “You’ll only exhaust yourself. You can’t hurt me.”

“Did…Did you do something to me?” Yang whispered.

The woman bit her lip. “You were dying. I saved you.”

Yang remembered feeling like her last breaths were slipping away from her. She remembered pleading with the woman, asking her to tell Ruby-

_Oh, gods. Ruby._

“Where are we?” Yang asked, her voice firmer.

“We’re in my manor house,” the woman replied immediately.

“Which is where?” Yang pressed.

“South of Mountain Glenn. Just shy of a mile from where you were attacked.”

Something clicked into place for Yang. “Is this the settlement?”

The woman nodded. “Yes. I started the settlement for people who didn’t want to be ruled by tyrannical kings.”

Yang had a million questions flying around in her head and did her best to prioritise them. She was in the settlement – the settlement, according to Ironwood, protected by an Immortal. Only Yang hadn’t encountered any Immortals, just a lot of Grimm. Had Ironwood made that up to scare Yang? She honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he had. If she was alive then her men would surely be alive too, right?

“My men,” Yang blurted.

“They’re safe,” the woman said quickly, almost anticipating Yang’s question.

“All accounted for?”

“Yes. Some serious injuries but they’re all walking and talking.”

“Okay.” Yang lifted a hand to rub her neck – a bad habit when she was tired and nervous – and realised afterwards that she hadn’t felt any resistance lifting her arm.

“You may want to fight me but your body won’t allow you,” the woman said, pre-empting Yang’s thoughts once more.

“Can you read my mind?” Yang demanded.

“No,” the woman replied a little slower. It seemed she was trying to figure out what to say. “It’s more a sense. I can sense your emotions very keenly and given that I’ve been around a while, I’ve learned how to presuppose thought processes.”

Yang rolled her eyes. “So yes, you can.”

The woman lifted a shoulder and smiled sheepishly. “I suppose, yes.”

“This is…I don’t even know where to start,” Yang muttered, feeling very overwhelmed, confused and tired.

“You’re going through a big change,” the woman murmured. “Your body, mind and soul is still adjusting.”

Yang stared at her. “What did you do to me?” She wasn’t sure why she just knew that the woman was responsible.

The woman looked at her, yellow eyes flickering all over her face. Yang remembered how those eyes had rendered her completely hypnotised during battle. She swallowed and shook her head slightly.

“I’ll explain everything,” the woman said. “I’ll answer any questions that you have and-“

“I just wanna know what you did to me!” Yang said, her voice a little louder. She clenched her fists at her side and although she didn’t lift them, even that action made her chest feel heavy.

“It’s not something that can be easily explained,” the woman replied.

“Try me,” Yang retorted.

“Very well. Should we go back to my room?”

Yang frowned. “Your room?”

“Uh, yes. This isn’t my room.”

_I was sleeping in this woman’s bed but she was sleeping in here. In the middle of the afternoon. Sure, that’s totally fucking normal._

“Is it…” Yang began, glancing around.

“You’re safe here,” the woman cut in gently.

“No, you need to stop doing that,” Yang said firmly. “I don’t want you reading my mind or guessing my thoughts or whatever. Let me say what I wanna say how I wanna say it.”

“Of course. My apologies,” the woman replied, holding her hands up in apology and Yang got a strong feeling that she wouldn’t try it again.

_What the hell is going on? I don’t know this woman and I shouldn’t have instincts like that about her._

“I’m Blake,” the woman said, holding out her hand.

“Yang,” Yang replied, reaching forward after a moment’s pause to grasp the outstretched hand.

The second their skin touched, Yang felt her entire body come alive. Every nerve ending felt like it was alert and her senses felt like they were on overdrive. She shut her eyes as flashes of a life that wasn’t hers flew through her mind.

Blake’s yellow eyes were the last thing that she could focus on before her vision faded to black.

* * *

Blake easily caught Yang before she hit the floor. She readjusted, picking her up bridal style and heading for the door. She lifted a leg and used her toes to turn the doorknob. It swung open and Blake glanced outside before heading back to her room.

By the light of the afternoon sun, she’d managed to sleep for about two hours, and she could feel her body’s protests. As tired as she was, she couldn’t even dream of attempting sleep after her charge had woken up after a mere eighteen hours.

In the nine hundred and seventeen years of Blake’s Immortal life, she had never heard of anyone waking up that quickly. It both intrigued her and worried her. Perhaps Weiss had a point in being concerned that this stranger now possessed incredible power.

_No. No, I won’t believe that she’d do that. History will not repeat itself._

Blake swallowed the memories down and walked into her bedroom, kicking the door closed behind her gently. The sunlight streaming in through the large windows only aggravated her migraine but she would deal with that once Yang was comfortable.

Yang was her name. It was beautiful and rolled off the tongue.

 _It suits her_ , Blake thought. _Cap must be a nickname._

Blake glanced at the blood-stained sheets of her bed and quickly walked around her bed to the chaise, gently laying Yang down. She turned back to her bed and, ignoring her body’s protests, made quick work of stripping the bed and remaking it with fresh sheets and linen from one of the many dressers. All in all, it took about two minutes and Blake dumped the stained sheets behind her door. They were hardly her focus.

She looked at Yang’s attire and weighed her options. Did she undress Yang before putting her in the bed or did she just-

Yang groaned and stirred. Blake’s eyes widened. With every thing Yang did, she astounded her. Touching each other’s skin for the first time cemented their connection and unlocked the remaining recesses of the change that Yang was undergoing. Blake thought that it would make sense for Yang to be fully aware of everything before they spoke.

Blake had expected Yang to be unconscious for at least three to four hours but she was already waking up after only ten minutes.

_She’s incredible._

“Ruby,” Yang moaned quietly, her arms twitching as her senses awoke.

Blake moved around her bedroom and drew the curtains closed – not only were her eyes starting to burn from being so dried out but she knew Yang’s eyes would be incredibly sensitive to the light. She immediately adjusted to the darkness which was still too bright for her in her current state of exhaustion but it would be fine for Yang.

_If she’s recovering this quickly, perhaps her powers are going to be more intense too._

The notion was concerning for Blake. Although she didn’t fear Yang attacking her – mostly because Yang’s body wouldn’t allow her to – she did worry that any external threats could cause Yang to overreact. And until Blake had fully explained everything to Yang, any interruptions or surprises would be highly ill-advised.

_I need to let Kline know._

Yang was still in the process of waking up so Blake closed her eyes and reached out to her connection with Kline. Twenty seconds later, there was a very soft knock on the door. Blake was so thankful for Kline. He was incredibly sympathetic to all the little nuances that she and Weiss needed to be comfortable when they were tired, hungry, horny or – worst case scenario – all three.

Blake walked over to the door, sparing one last look at Yang, who still hadn’t completely woken up. She was fighting the pull to sleep, that was for sure.

_She definitely is a fighter._

Blake opened the door a few centimetres.

“My lady,” Kline whispered, bowing his head in greeting.

“Good afternoon, Kline. Yang awoke about fifteen minutes ago and is currently undergoing her second Awakening.”

Kline’s bushy eyebrows shot up. “Understood, m’lady. I will inform Princess Weiss. You will not be disturbed.”

“Thank you, Kline. I appreciate you coming so quickly.”

“Princess Weiss and I decided to wait until you awoke before-“

Kline’s eyes shifted to something behind Blake and widened. Blake suddenly sensed Yang’s presence behind her. She turned and saw Yang, eyes red, glaring at Kline.

“No, no,” Blake said quickly, holding onto Yang’s arms. “He’s a friend. Yang, he’s a friend.”

Yang tried to struggle against Blake but she never stood a chance. Blake would always be stronger than her, simply because she was her Elder. There were a lot of signs pointing to that likelihood that Yang would be an incredibly powerful Immortal but between the two of them, Blake would always be able to overpower her.

Blake kicked the door closed and the physical barrier seemed to snap Yang out of predatory trance. She blinked and Blake saw her eyes immediately fade back to lilac.

_Gods, those eyes._

“Yang,” she murmured.

Their eyes met and Blake’s skin bristled with electricity. She had never felt such an effect from one person before – human or Immortal.

Similarly to the two previous occasions where their gazes had locked, Blake was rendered speechless, helpless. She couldn’t move. She didn’t want to move.

Yang didn’t seem to have that problem. She stepped closer to Blake pressing their bodies together. Blake gasped, both from the physical contact and from her back hitting her closed bedroom door. She knew that there was a level of protection and possessiveness with new Immortals, especially as she was the one to have Changed Yang.

Blake hated the term _sire_.

“Yang,” she breathed.

They were so close. _So_ close. Blake’s hands were still resting on Yang’s arms – arms that she could now feel. Yang’s muscles flexed unconsciously and her hands came to rest on Blake’s waist. Blake bit her lip.

_Get a hold of yourself, Belladonna. This is not your first rodeo._

That much was true – Blake knew the ins and outs of an Awakening and she needed to rein in whatever was happening. Yang felt a very strong connection to Blake as the one who Changed her and that was it.

_That’s it._

“Yang,” Blake tried again.

“Blake,” Yang husked back and Blake was surprised at the moan that crept up into her throat. Yang leaned forward and let her nose travel up and down Blake’s exposed neck.

_Right, that’s normal. She’s familiarising herself with my scent._

Blake willed her body to calm down. Yang’s behaviour was totally normal and hers was absolutely not. She had _never_ gotten so flustered during an Awakening before.

_Why is this happening? It must be because I’m so exhausted. My body isn’t able to stave off the intensity of the initial connection._

That had to be it. It was the only explanation. Blake couldn’t stop the shiver that ran through her body as Yang’s grip on her waist tightened, her lips brushing Blake’s neckline.

“Gods,” she choked out, unable to stop her fingers from gripping Yang’s arms harder.

Yang suddenly pulled back and Blake breathed a sigh of relief. Their eyes met again and Blake could see that Yang’s conscious self had completely returned; she was no longer acting purely on her instincts.

Yang, however, did not move from her position, nor did her hands.

“Blake,” she whispered, “what am I?”


	7. Chapter 7

Yang wasn’t sure if her quick breathing was because of everything running through her mind, her body being on edge or because she was pressed up against Blake and it didn’t feel wrong in the slightest.

“Blake,” she whispered, “what am I?”

Blake swallowed. “I’m going to tell you everything, Yang,” she said quietly. “I think that perhaps we should sit down.”

Yang really didn’t want to sit down. She didn’t want to move her body away from Blake’s. Which was completely ridiculous considering that Yang had _no_ idea who she was or even what she was, and they’d kind of only really met like, ten minutes ago.

“This isn’t me reading your mind; this is me understanding more about what you’re going through right now than you do,” Blake added. “I know you don’t want to let me go. I know that you want to stay as close to me as possible. That’s very normal for what’s happening.”

“Nothing about this seems normal,” Yang muttered, feeling suddenly exhausted from all the emotions running through her body and mind. She let her forehead rest of Blake’s shoulder. “I don’t even know you but I feel like I may combust if you move away from me. That’s not normal for someone I don’t even know.”

Blake’s hand softly stroked Yang’s arms, her fingers curling around her triceps on the way back up. “Shall I start with why you feel like that?”

“It’s as good a place as any,” Yang muttered, not moving.

While Blake’s fingers continued to move up and down Yang’s arms, she started talking. “You won’t feel this connection with anyone else because we share something special.”

“Is that why I couldn’t stop staring at you in the forest?” Yang whispered.

“I, uh…um…”

Yang lifted her head at Blake’s faltering and their eyes met once more.

“Please tell me,” Yang begged.

Blake sighed. “Yang, I don’t know why that happened. I felt it too. It was like I couldn’t move.” She dropped her gaze. “I feel it now too and honestly, I wish I could explain what it means. I just don’t know.”

Yang could tell she was being honest. “Okay. So we can figure that part out together.”

Blake’s head shot up again. “To-Together?”

Yang’s brow furrowed. “You don’t want me here?”

Their proximity hadn’t changed during their conversation, which Yang found intriguing and also confusing. Their entire conversation would probably seem bizarre to anyone listening in. She didn’t fully understand it herself but her body was screaming at her that she needed to be as close to Blake as possible.

“No, it’s not that at all, I promise.” Blake lifted her right hand and placed it on top of Yang’s heart. “I think we should go and sit down. Or lay down.”

Yang felt a rush of exhaustion rush through her and it took her a few seconds to realise that it wasn’t _her_ exhaustion that she was feeling; it was Blake’s. Yang took a step back and scooped Blake into her arms before either of them could really react to what was going on.

“Yang-“ Blake said in protest but her arm went around Yang’s neck and her right remained over Yang’s heart.

“You’re exhausted,” Yang said firmly. “As confusing as this is for me, and as many questions as I have for you, I think that you need to sleep first.”

Blake opened her mouth to say something but clearly the determination in Yang’s eyes won her over. She sighed in resignation. “Fine. This is only because I really need to recharge.”

Yang turned them around and walked to the bed. She knelt on the mattress and gently placed Blake against the pillows before sitting on the edge of the bed. Blake sank into the comfort almost immediately and Yang felt a surge of pride at the fact that she had helped Blake feel comfortable.

“Yang, before I fall asleep, I need to explain something,” Blake said, swallowing a yawn.

“Do you want me to stay while you sleep?” Yang asked.

“I think it would be safest.”

“Are we in danger?”

“No,” Blake replied slowly. “Things are just very different. _You’re_ different. Your body is changing.”

“In a good or a bad way?”

“Well, that depends on your point of view, I suppose.”

“Blake, please just tell me if I need to be careful of anyone or anything.” Yang swallowed a sudden ball of nerves that had appeared in the pit of her stomach. “Am…Am I dangerous?”

The look of hesitation on Blake’s face told Yang all she needed to know. Yang blinked, a sudden barrage of questions on the tip of her tongue. She knew Blake needed to sleep and she knew that Blake was the only one who could answer them. But if she was a danger…

“I’m sorry, Yang,” Blake whispered. “I thought I had more time to recuperate before we had this conversation. You’re quickly defying all my expectations. This isn’t fair to you, I know.”

Yang placed a finger over her lips, surprising both of them with the intimacy of the touch. “Sleep. I’ll be okay.” She glanced back at the door. As much as she wanted to stay with Blake, that longing to be near her wasn’t as strong as it had been a few minutes ago.

“Your men are in the infirmary, if you want to go and see them. They’ve been asking after you,” Blake murmured.

Yang bit her lip. She did want to see them but part of her also didn’t want to leave Blake. “I’ll think about it,” she promised.

“I’m sorry that I can’t answer any more questions right now,” Blake mumbled sleepily, her eyes already closed.

Yang couldn’t help but smile. “We have time. Rest up, Blake. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“I know you will.” Blake’s last words before she fell asleep stayed with Yang as she watched Blake fall deeper and deeper into her slumber. Yang had felt protection and love for Ruby before but whatever she felt when she was around Blake ran much deeper. It was like an obligation, like she physically couldn’t dismiss her.

Yang decided to test a few things. While she still didn’t really understand what had happened to her, she accepted that she had changed. Blake had saved her life and by doing so, altered her. Yang wasn’t sure if the change was good or bad just yet but one thing was abundantly clear to her – she and Blake were going to be tied together in some way for the rest of their lives.

She moved off the bed, careful not jostle Blake. Yang stood facing her and took a step back. Her gut tugged similar to the way it had in the hallway after she’d woken up but she felt okay. When she and Blake had been against the door, Yang had felt as though it would physically pain her to move away from Blake but that desperation, that urgency seemed to have abated.

_I wonder if that’s because of me or because of her? It doesn’t really make sense that I couldn’t fathom moving away from her five minutes ago but now I’m taking steps away and feeling fine._

Yang had stepped back a further five times until her back hit the door. She still felt okay.

_Is that because she’s sleeping now? Will that yearning to be close to her only happen when she’s awake?_

Yang didn’t feel tired at all. In fact, she felt more awake than she had in a long time.

_Blake said I could go and see my men. I’m sure they have questions too – not that I’ll be able to answer any of them._

Yang glanced down and saw that she was still wearing her blood-stained bra and torn, bloody pants. She glanced around the bedroom and saw a wardrobe on the opposite side of the bed. Taking care to be quiet, Yang walked across the room, surprising herself with her light steps. She’d always known how to sneak around but she felt far lighter on her feet than she had before. She opened one of the wardrobe doors and found all manner of clothing hanging on a rail and folded underneath. Yang was sure Blake wouldn’t mind her borrowing some clean clothes.

_I wonder if there’s somewhere I can clean myself up._

Yang found some pants and a loose shirt that looked as though it would fit her. Glancing back at the bed, she wondered if her jacket had been salvaged. That jacket meant a lot to her. It held a lot of memories, and not just because Ruby had helped alter it from the standard Vale uniform.

_Ruby…_

Yang paused in her search for clothing and sighed quietly. She had made a promise to Ruby to return to Vale as soon as she could. Whatever was happening with her could mean that she’d have to stay with Blake. The thought of never seeing Ruby again filed her with dread.

Blake whimpered and Yang immediately dropped the clothes she’d been holding and walked quickly to the bed. Blake’s brow was furrowed and her breathing had picked up.

_Is she having a nightmare?_

“No…save her….” Blake mumbled.

_Save who? Save me? She already did that._

“Save Ruby.”

Yang’s eyes shot wide open in surprise. Had Blake felt her distress about Ruby? She’s felt Blake’s exhaustion so it made sense (in a completely unbelievable way) that Blake could feel what she was feeling. She’d openly admitted to being attuned to Yang’s emotions and thoughts.

_Okay, I need to try and keep my mind clear, then. Blake needs to sleep._

Yang wasn’t sure why it was so important for Blake to sleep but her instincts were telling her that it was a priority. Yang’s instincts had always been pretty spot on so regardless of the changes she was undergoing, she was still going to follow her instincts. Maybe they could answer some of her questions.

Satisfied that Blake was once again sleeping peacefully, her brow crease-free, Yang moved away from the bed and picked up the clothes she’d discarded. She shut the wardrobe quietly and opened the next door only to find that it wasn’t another wardrobe. It was a door that led into a spacious bathroom.

_Wow._

Yang considered her bathroom back home to be pretty lavish but Blake’s bathroom felt like heaven. There was a large standing tub against one wall. A sink and toilet were nearest the door and Yang frowned in confusion at a contraption fastened to the far wall. There was a drain in the floor and a spout with taps fixed to the wall.

_Does water come out of that?_

Yang filed that on her growing list of questions for Blake. She walked back to the door and pulled it closed, not wanting to risk waking Blake as she ran the water in the bath. As the warm water started to fill the bath, Yang poked around the cabinets underneath the sink and was pleasantly surprised to find some lavender candles and soap.

_Good to know that Blake has excellent taste._

Yang grinned and lit a few candles. She dropped the soap into the bath and watched as the bubbles started covering the surface. Yang suddenly became _extremely_ aware of how grimy and dirty she was. With the confusion of waking up in a strange place, the weirdness of her injuries and the glass and scar thing, the inexplicable pull to find Blake and their intense but short conversation, Yang hadn’t really stopped to think about her state of personal hygiene.

She pulled her bra over her head and grimaced at the difference between her exposed skin and her covered skin. The last time she’d taken a bath had been the night before she’d left Vale so she had four days of dirt and grime on her skin, never mind the blood and dirt from the battle.

Yang sighed and pulled her pants down. As she looked down, she saw the secret compartment tucked into the lining and remembered what she’d stored there. She pulled out the letter and opened it slowly, reading the words once more.

_I would suggest getting rid of Captain Xiao Long before she becomes even more of a problem._

Yang felt her anger spike but she quickly remembered where she was and who was in the next room. She stifled the emotion down and took a few deep breaths. The aroma of lavender definitely helped in calming her down. Yang placed the piece of paper on the sink countertop and turned off the bath tap. She climbed in and bit back a moan of appreciation as the hot water seeped into her muscles. She took a few moments to allow the relaxation to wash over her before taking a breath and dipping below the surface. Yang enjoyed the quiet of being underwater so she often took a few moments during her baths to drown everything out.

After about eighty seconds, Yang usually went above the water again, mostly because of her need to breathe. That time came and went and Yang felt no need to break the surface. She frowned but decided to test how long she could stay underwater; perhaps it was something that had developed with whatever changes her body had undergone after Blake had saved her.

After five minutes of being underwater and still not feeling the need to surface, Yang did anyway. She didn’t gasp for breath and her heartrate was normal.

_Well. That’s certainly something._

Yang made a mental note to ask Blake about it and set about washing herself thoroughly. The water was already dirty from what had come of Yang’s body naturally. She didn’t want to wallow in the water for longer than necessary. Yang scrubbed her arms, pausing briefly over the spot on her left arm where her scar had previously been.

_Add it to the list of questions. No point dwelling on it now._

When Yang stood up, the red mark on her stomach had practically vanished. There was a very faint sign of something having been there and Yang was sure that she could only see it because she _knew_ that she’d been impaled on a broken branch twenty-four hours before.

 _I suppose that’s a pretty good perk of whatever’s happened to me,_ Yang considered, stepping out of the bath and draining the water. There was a towel stacked on a shelf next to the bath and Yang grabbed one, quickly towelling herself dry. She pulled on the clothes that she had found in Blake’s wardrobe and felt only slightly uncomfortable that she wasn’t wearing any underwear.

_Hardly the first time you’ve gone commando._

Maybe so, but it was definitely the first time she was doing it wearing someone else’s clothes. Yang towel dried her hair and grimaced at how she knew it was going to puff up and become a menace to manage. She spied a round elastic band on the sink and picked it up, pulling her hair into a ponytail and tying the band around it.

 _That’ll do_. The pants were a little tight but manageable and the shirt was loose enough that Yang’s breasts weren’t pressed against her body uncomfortably. For someone who had needed to wear a bra from the age of twelve, Yang wasn’t used to not wearing a bra in public.

The pants ended just below her knee and Yang was comfortable enough that she didn’t need to pull her boots on. Besides, she wanted to be quiet and her boots were anything but quiet. As Yang slowly pushed the door open back to the bedroom, she wondered if she’d need her weapons.

_Blake said I could go and see my men. She wouldn’t have said that if it wasn’t safe, right?_

Yang was glad to see that Blake was still fast asleep and her face was relaxed.

_Part of me doesn’t want to leave her but I’ll come back. I just need to see the guys and let them know I’m okay._

Yang bit her lip and made the decision. Walking to the door wasn’t unpleasant, although she did feel a slight tug in her stomach when she opened the door.

_If the separation affects me too much, I’ll just stay in the bedroom. I can see the guys later._

Yang pulled the bedroom door carefully closed behind her, thankful that it made no sound. She glanced around the large hallway and squinted at the brightness of the afternoon sun. It felt like a headache was coming on but Yang shook it off. The sun didn’t give her headaches – on the contrary; she loved the energy it gave her.

Slowly, she walked down the hall, ever aware of her body’s reaction to the increasing distance between her and Blake. Thankfully, she seemed to be handling it okay. Other than the occasional tug in her gut and a dull ache in her chest, Yang felt fine.

_Now how the heck do I get out of here?_

* * *

Weiss glanced at the manor house when a strange sensation passed through her. She hadn’t felt anything quite like it before but she could sense that Blake was fine so she ignored it and continued her afternoon patrol of the settlement.

The settlement didn’t need patrolling; not after Blake had dealt with the Nevermore. Although Weiss was still curious as to what had drawn so many Grimm to a particular place in the forest, everyone had come away mostly unscathed.

_Well, not everyone._

Weiss trusted Blake implicitly but she couldn’t help her concern over Blake’s newest pet. It wasn’t like Blake to be so impulsive, especially when it came to Changing someone. Weiss just hoped that Blake’s instincts were right and that the new Immortal wasn’t going to cause any problems.

“Your Highness.”

Weiss turned around and smiled. “Kline. What brings you this far from the manor house?”

Even though both Blake and Weiss had sworn they didn’t need a butler, Kline had insisted upon his arrival at the settlement. Both Weiss and Blake were used to having servants but had grown accustomed to doing everything themselves. Having someone they trusted running the manor house gave them peace of mind when they slept or went out on their monthly excursions.

Weiss noticed for the first time that Kline appeared concerned. “Kline, what is it?”

“Lady Belladonna’s new charge has Awoken,” Kline said quietly.

“ _What_?” Weiss hissed. “That’s impossible.”

“I saw her with my own eyes,” Kline replied.

“That’s…unbelievable. I’ve never heard of anyone Awakening twenty-four hours after being Changed.”

“Lady Belladonna appears to have everything under control,” Kline continued. “She asked me to inform you.”

Weiss nodded. “Much appreciated, Kline.” She reached out through her connection to Blake and could swear that Blake was sleeping but there was no way if her new charge had just Awoken.

Part of her was a little worried that if Captain Yang – she’d found out the woman’s name from her soldiers – had already Awoken, that meant that Blake had barely gotten two hours of sleep and she would be even more exhausted after an Awakening.

Weiss wanted to help but knew that she couldn’t. The Awakening had to take place between Blake and Yang. Yang would be extremely protective and volatile to anyone else interfering and Blake was the only one strong enough to control her.

Weiss vaguely remembered her own Awakening and how she had tried very hard to fight Blake at any given opportunity. In hindsight, she chided herself for acting so foolishly but at the time, she hadn’t really known what to expect, even though Blake had explained a great deal to her beforehand.

While Blake had Changed Weiss nine years prior, they had known each other for a few months beforehand and Blake had, after much coaxing, divulged her secret. Weiss had been fascinated and Blake seemed relieved to share. It was only afterwards that Weiss had discovered that Blake had barely spoken to a soul in almost fifty years before meeting Weiss.

“Good day, Your Highness!” Ren, the settlement’s resident baker, called out to her, breaking Weiss out of her thoughts.

She smiled genuinely. “Good day, Ren. Have you had a successful morning of trade?”

When Blake and Weiss had agreed to open their settlement to refugees from the kingdoms, they had come up with a few ground rules. Trade was the currency and Blake was the law. Since no one had any desire to defy an Immortal, they hadn’t had any issues in the five years their settlement had been in existence.

“Very successful!” Ren exclaimed and Weiss had to smile at the change in the quiet man who’d come to them a few months before. “The Vale soldiers remember me from the kingdom and traded me for almost everything.”

Weiss lifted an eyebrow. “And they were happy to see you?”

“They were. I was surprised too. I didn’t think that any of the Vale soldiers gave a damn about the lower class.”

_Perhaps Blake was onto something about this captain and her soldiers then._

“That’s good to hear, then,” Weiss said with a warm smile. “Tell Nora I say hello.”

“Tell her yourself, Ice Queen.”

Weiss rolled her eyes and turned around, smile already in place. “Good day to you, Nora. I trust you’re well.”

Nora, with her ever-present smirk, gave a grandiose curtsy which made Weiss’s hand twitch. Nora Valkyrie annoyed her _so very much_. “I’m great! It’s a great day! We’re all great.”

“Great,” Weiss drawled. “I’ll be on my way then.”

“Great!”

Weiss shook her head as she headed back to the infirmary. She had planned to check on the soldiers one last time before turning in. She was starting to feel the drain of being awake all day.

Several things happened in the space of a few seconds. Firstly, Weiss felt the presence of another Immortal, one she didn’t recognise, one that _screamed_ power. Second, the infirmary, which was just ahead of her, erupted into cheers and Vale soldiers poured out of the doors. Third, Weiss felt the most serene sensation from Blake.

_What on Remnant…?_

Weiss listened to her instincts and followed the trace of the Immortal. In front of the infirmary, the Vale soldiers were surrounding the Immortal. That had to mean that Yang was Awake.

_But…how?_

Why was she away from Blake so quickly? Weiss had spent practically a week glued to Blake’s side after her second Awakening. Gradually, that possessiveness lessened and Weiss was able to do her own thing. She could still sense Blake whenever she needed to but they hadn’t had any kind of co-dependency like that since her Awakening.

Yang was surely still on her initial Awakening. How was she already wandering the grounds by herself? Weiss could sense that Blake was still in the manor house. Sleeping, if she wasn’t mistaken.

_She couldn’t have…_

Weiss shook the thought from her head. Blake would have let her know if Yang had done anything to her.

_I have to trust Blake on this, even if I have my own concerns._

While she and Blake treated each other as equals, there were certain things wherein there would always be a hierarchy. In terms of royalty, Weiss was senior to Blake but that was where any authority ended. Blake was Weiss’s Elder and Weiss would always defer to her, especially in the matter of new Immortals.

“Cap, you look incredible!” one of the men was saying as Weiss neared the group. She had made it a habit of not using her keen listening skills to eavesdrop on conversations. She attuned her hearing to that of a human and only used her heightened hearing when she needed to.

“You sure you fought all those Grimm?” another one teased.

“You calling me a liar, Benji?” Yang challenged but Weiss could tell that her voice held no real threat.

“Cap, back from the dead. Holy shit.”

“Takes more than a few Grimm to knock me down,” Yang said proudly. “How have you all b-“ Her voice cut off abruptly.

Weiss sighed and stood up straight, knowing exactly what was coming. The crowd around Yang parted and Weiss found herself looking into a pair of dark purple eyes. She raised an eyebrow as she sensed the struggle for control going on inside Yang.

_Well, that is rather impressive._

For a new Immortal, that possessive control over their sire – _Blakes hates that word_ – was nigh impossible to ignore which is why Weiss was surprised that Yang was even away from Blake so soon after her Awakening.

“Hello, Yang,” Weiss said calmly.

Yang squeezed her eyes closed tightly and when she opened them again, they were a soft lilac colour. Weiss was heartily impressed. Blake certainly hadn’t oversold Yang’s power.

“I feel like I know you,” Yang said quietly, walking up to you. “But I’ve never met you. How is that possible?”

“Well, I’m sure you’re now aware that there’s a lot of seemingly impossible things that are, in fact, possible,” Weiss replied.

“I suppose,” Yang agreed. “You know Blake?”

“Yes. She Saved me too.”

Yang’s eyes flared red and Weiss met her gaze evenly.

“We are not enemies, Yang,” she said firmly. “You know that.”

Even though she was baring her teeth in a show of power, Yang calmed her breathing and her eyes flickered back to purple. “I’m sorry. This is all still very confusing for me.”

“Why aren’t you with Blake?” Weiss asked curiously. The short conversation and her senses were clear indicators that Yang didn’t know what Blake had done to her and all that entailed. It made the fact that she was away from Blake all that more impressive.

“Blake was exhausted. She’s sleeping. We’re going to talk once she wakes up.”

“How are you able to be so far away from her?” Weiss asked curiously.

Yang glanced back at the manor house. “I think knowing that she needs to rest makes me feel like it’s okay if I’m not there with her right now. I’ll be there when she wakes up, anyway,” Yang said, lifting her shoulder.

_This is remarkable. She seems so accepting of this intense connection she has with Blake without knowing why it exists. She doesn’t even know she’s an Immortal and yet acts like nothing has changed even though it’s clear she knows something has._

“I’m Weiss,” she said, holding out a hand.

Yang and her soldiers stared at her. Weiss was used to the reaction.

“ _Princess_ Weiss?” Yang asked in shock.

“That’s me.”

Yang stared at her more intently and then grinned widely. “This is amazing!”

“Is it?” Weiss asked dryly, dropping her hand since it was clear Yang wasn’t going to shake it.

“Sorry, I wasn’t sure if I was gonna faint or something if I took your hand like when I took Blake’s,” Yang babbled.

Weiss blinked in surprise. Wait. _She’s in her second Awakening already? Who is this girl?_

“Holy shit, this is so amazing. This is the _best_ news!” Yang was still chattering excitedly with a big smile.

It seemed that her soldiers agreed because they were also sporting matching smiles.

“While I like to tell people that I can read minds, I’m not as adept as Blake is,” Weiss said. “Would someone care to explain to me why me being Weiss Schnee is so amazing?”

“Because Winter will be ecstatic to know that you’re alive!”

All of Weiss’s sardonic humour left her body. “W-What?”

“She’s going to be so excited when she sees you!” Yang continued.

“Wait,” Weiss said sharply.

Yang obliged.

“You know my sister?”

“Of course. She’s our queen,” Yang replied.

“She’s…still alive?” Weiss whispered. She’d feared the worst ever since hearing that their father had shipped her off to Vale to marry Ironwood.

Yang’s expression hardened but she relaxed immediately and Weiss was once more impressed at her level of control. “Yes, she’s alive. For now. Princess Weiss, I made a promise to my sister and to yours that I would do everything in my power to get them out of Vale once I’d found this settlement.”

_And now that power is exponentially greater. Blake was right about her. She’s going to end Ironwood’s reign of tyranny._


	8. Chapter 8

Blake’s eyes fluttered open as she roused herself from sleep. She knew that she’d had enough rest; her body felt rejuvenated and her mind clear. She wondered how long she’d been asleep for. Judging by the temperature of the air and the darkness behind her curtains, she presumed that it was just after sunset.

_Shit, I hope Yang’s been okay._

She knew that she would have woken if anything disturbing had happened. Her link to both Yang and Weiss was strong enough to wake her from any slumber, except perhaps dehydration. That was one ordeal Blake had no intention of reliving.

“Hey, you’re awake.”

Blake turned her head to the chaise and saw Yang reclining comfortably, one of Blake’s books in her hand. Blake could tell that she’d washed and that she was wearing her clothes. Her body temperature increased at the vision of Yang wearing _her_ clothes and she quickly removed the thought from her mind. The connection she felt with Yang would normalise after a few days, the same as it had with Weiss. What she was experiencing was merely the standard Awakening…stuff.

_I am being so ridiculous._

Blake smiled at Yang and pushed her body up so that she was sitting with her back against the headboard.

“Did you sleep well?” Yang asked, putting the book down.

“I did, thank you,” Blake murmured.

“Good.” Yang smiled and Blake marvelled at how calm she was. She knew Yang had questions – hundreds, no doubt – but she’d managed to organise herself to wash, find clothes and presumably go and see her men.

“Thank you for taking such good care of my men,” Yang said, answering Blake’s thoughts. “I wasn’t sure what to expect when we found the settlement but it has exceeded my expectations.”

“In a good way?” Blake asked, leaning her head back against the cool wood.

“Oh, definitely. I mean, it stands to reason that this would be a good place considering how many people left the kingdom to live here.”

Blake just hummed in agreement. She decided that she needed to have a few of her own questions answered before she told Yang everything.

“Yang, why did you come here?”

Yang stood up, placed the book on the chaise and walked over to the bed. She sat on the edge closest to Blake’s feet and pulled a piece of paper from the pocket of the pants she was wearing.

_Those are one of my favourite pairs too._

She didn’t hand the paper to Blake just yet, turning it over between her fingers. Blake could see that she wasn’t sure how to say what she wanted to say, or if she even wanted to say it.

“You’re on my land, Yang,” Blake said quietly. “I have a right to know why you came here with a group of armed soldiers.”

Yang took a deep breath. “Yeah.” She looked into Blake’s eyes and neither of them said anything for a few moments – not that Blake could. She’d never met someone who could render her completely frozen with just a look.

_And Yang said it was the same for her too. What is this?_

“Uh, sorry.” Yang blinked and shook her head slightly. “I didn’t mean to hook you like that. I just always look into people’s eyes when I’m talking to them. The eyes are the most expressive part of the body, so I always know what people are really feeling.”

“Interesting,” Blake replied with a small smile. She did the same thing. “Perhaps it may be easier if I asked you questions.”

“Okay, sure.”

“What was your mission?”

“To find the thirty-seven missing residents of the kingdom of Vale,” Yang replied.

“Why?”

Yang paused.

“I should warn you that I’ll know if you’re lying.”

“Oh, I know you would. I don’t have anything to hide. I’m just trying to figure out _how_ to explain this. It’s kind of a mess.”

“I see.”

Yang swung her other leg onto the bed and leaned over on her elbow so that she was still facing Blake. “How much do you know about the current political climate in Vale?”

Blake rolled her eyes. “Ironwood is a tyrannical dictator who has been taxing his citizens out of house and home to fund a war that doesn’t exist.”

Yang’s eyes went wide. “Right, so you know everything, then. Well, almost everything. Actually, you probably know everything.”

“Yang,” Blake said with a soft chuckle. “Please don’t presume what I do or don’t know. The reason I know that is because of the people in the settlement. They don’t stay quiet about their opinions on Ironwood. As for the war, well, that was obvious. I’ve been living in this forest for almost ten years and I haven’t seen anything close to a war.

Yang blinked. “Ten years? So since you were young, then?”

_Uh oh._

“Um, why don’t we park that for later,” Blake suggested. “Why did the king send you to find the settlement?”

“I can only assume that he wanted to know where people were going,” Yang said, looking down.

Blake’s senses tingled. “Yang-“

“No, I know, I know. That’s not the whole truth. I mean, it was just an excuse to send me on a dangerous mission that hopefully would get me killed.”

Blake frowned. “Why would Ironwood want you killed?”

“Uh…” Yang’s cheeks tinted pink and Blake stared. She hadn’t seen anyone blush in so long. “Well, I was kind of sleeping with the queen. So there’s that.”

Blake didn’t say anything for a moment.

“Oh, shit. I probably should _not_ mention that to Weiss. That’d be really weird,” Yang said with a sheepish grin.

“You mean you were having an affair with _Winter_?” Blake eventually found her voice.

“Uh, yeah.” Yang rubbed the back of her neck as her cheeks became more flushed. “I mean, she wasn’t getting her needs met by Ironwood.” Her eyes suddenly grew serious. “And he hit her.”

Blake frowned. “Have you mentioned any of this to Weiss?”

“No, just that Winter is the queen in Vale. And that I made a promise to her that I was going to free her. And my sister.”

“Do you love her?” Blake asked with an unintended sharpness in her tone.

“My sister? Yeah, completely. I’d do anything for her,” Yang replied.

“No, I meant-“ Blake began, but trailed off when she saw Yang’s smirk. “Just answer the question, smartass.”

At that, Yang grinned widely. “I care for her but I don’t love her. Still waiting to find that woman who turns my world upside down.”

Blake didn’t like how her stomach jumped at those words. She steadfastly ignored it. “Did Ironwood send you here because of the Immortal?”

“Yeah. I didn’t expect to be taken down by Grimm beforehand though so…I guess his plan worked.”

“Yang…” Blake folded her hands in her lap. “That Grimm attack was not usual. We haven’t had that concentration in one area since I’ve been here.”

“Oh. Maybe Ironwood planned it somehow?” Yang’s brow furrowed as she thought. “I don’t think he would have turned any of my men.” She sighed. “At least I hope not. My team is close. We don’t have secrets.”

“Did they know about you and Winter?” Blake asked before her brain could stop her mouth. _I need to stop fixating on the Winter of it all._

Yang’s eyes were smiling, even if her lips didn’t mirror that sentiment. “I told them when we started this mission. I also told them that Ironwood likely sent me on this mission because he doesn’t really care if he gets the information back or not. But he did want to ensure that there was a big chance that I didn’t get back.”

“So all this because you’re having an affair with his wife?” Blake asked. It seemed like overkill, even for Ironwood.

“Yeah, I think so. I mean, I don’t think he knows that I know about the war being a farce. I’m honestly more worried for Winter than anything else. And with Weiss here, she’d be so happy to finally be rid of Ironwood.”

“How were things meant to go, if everything went how you wanted?” Blake asked.

“I would have found the settlement without any big battle, stayed for a few days to see what it was like and meet whomever is in charge – I’m guessing that’s you, right?”

Blake nodded.

“Okay, and then if the person in charge agreed, I was going to go back to Vale and get my sister, Winter and anyone else who wants to come along.”

“And how were you going to get people to leave?”

“Well, there aren’t many people that are happy there, Blake,” Yang replied. “Winter is less than two months away and people are struggling to put food on the table, never mind Fire Dust in their hearths. I need to make sure that they can live without unnecessary struggle.”

That prickled Blake’s curiosity. “Why you?”

“Because right now, I’m the person able to offer them a better way of life. Ironwood gave me an opportunity with this mission, even though his goals are far different from mine.”

“Do you believe that power corrupts?” Blake asked.

“I believe it can,” Yang replied immediately and with conviction. “I believe that _absolute_ power can corrupt but it also depends on the person who has the power.”

“How do you mean?”

“Well, let’s take the two obvious examples. You have Ironwood, fuelled purely by his greed for power and control. He doesn’t care how he gets that power, so long as he gets it.”

“Agreed.”

“And then there’s you,” Yang continued.

“Me?” Blake asked in surprise.

Yang grinned. “Who else was I supposed to compare Ironwood to? You’ve created a safe haven here. I spent the afternoon with the people and they revere you. They are so grateful for you and Weiss and what you’ve done for them. All you want from them is honesty and hard work. I mean, who wouldn’t want to live in a world where you’re rewarded for the work you put in as opposed to your royal standing?” Yang paused. “Uh, no offence to Weiss or anything.”

Blake raised an eyebrow. “Just Weiss?”

Yang cocked her head. “Well, I know who Weiss is, Blake. I don’t know who you are. Are you royalty?”

Blake cracked a smile. “Nobility. Not quite as up there as Weiss, I’m afraid.”

“I wouldn’t want all that, honestly. Way too much pressure,” Yang said.

“Interesting that you say that when you’re risking your life for the good of your people,” Blake murmured.

“My people? No, they’re not my people. They’re the people of Vale.”

“Under a corrupt ruler. You’re freeing them of that. You’re leading them to a better life. I think that makes you their leader.”

“Huh.”

“So that was the reason you came looking for this settlement, for me?” Blake asked.

“Well, honestly, I didn’t even know you existed. I didn’t know what to expect really, other than the rumour of an Immortal. Wait…” Yang looked at Blake with wide eyes. “Did you make that up?”

Blake’s mouth twitched into a crooked smile. “Perhaps.”

_Just wait until she realises that it’s all real._

Yang laughed and Blake’s stomach jumped again. “That’s amazing. Ruby would get a kick out of that.”

“Ruby is your sister?”

“Yep! She’s incredible. She’s the smartest person I know. She designed all my weapons and she does most of the weapon designs for the army.”

Blake raised an eyebrow. “Those gauntlets you were wearing were designed by her?”

Yang nodded. “Also, while we’re detouring to that. Is there a reason why you watched me get my ass handed to me by a hoard of Grimm instead of helping me?” Her tone was slightly accusatory but more curious and Blake supposed she couldn’t blame her for asking.

“I didn’t know who you were, other than part of the Vale army. My first priority is to protect my settlement, always. The same way you want to save your people.”

Yang nodded. “I can understand that.” She shuffled forward. “If you didn’t know me well enough to fight with me, why did you Save me?”

Blake swallowed. _Shit._ “Honestly, it was just a feeling. What you said about your sister and breaking your promise…there was a true yearning in your voice when you said that and I couldn’t walk away from you and let you die.”

“Okay.” Yang shuffled even closer. Her arms were next to Blake’s covered legs. “What did you do to me?” The question held no accusation and Blake wasn’t sure if she was appreciative or worried that Yang seemed to be taking things so well.

Blake took a slow, deep breath. “The Immortal monster is not a ruse, Yang. I am the Immortal monster.”

* * *

Yang’s breath caught in her throat. She’d been expecting a strange explanation but not _that_. “You’re not a monster,” was the first thing she said.

Blake let out a laugh which eased the tension that had suddenly settled in the bedroom. “There are many who would disagree with you, Yang,” she said quietly.

“So…you’re an Immortal,” Yang supplied after a few moments of silence.

Blake nodded.

“And you Saved me.” Yang’s brain _finally_ started working and things started falling into place. “You made me an Immortal too.”

“It was the only way to save your life,” Blake murmured.

Yang licked her lips. _Immortal._ That sure wasn’t something she’d planned for. “Is that why I feel this tether to you?” she asked Blake.

“Yes. Don’t worry, it will fade after a few days or weeks.”

“Oh,” Yang murmured in disappointment. _Wait, don’t advertise that. Blake doesn’t need to know that she had such a profound effect on you even before she saved you._ She cleared her throat. “I haven’t said it yet; thank you, Blake. You saved my life and you’ve given me an incredible gift.”

Blake’s eyes sparkled when she looked up at Yang and immediately Yang felt drawn to her, like she wanted to move closer and closer until-

_Stop it. Get a hold of yourself. She already said this was just because of the whole Immortal thing._

“Don’t thank me just yet. You don’t know what being an Immortal is like,” Blake muttered.

“Do you not like it, Blake?” Yang asked.

Blake sighed. “It’s not about liking it or not liking it. I accepted long ago that the _what if_ question was a pointless one.”

Yang was quiet for a moment. “What if you died?”

“Yeah,” Blake whispered, focusing on her hands.

“Hey.” Yang reached out and took one of Blake’s hands. Their eyes met again and Yang didn’t let her look away like she had been for most of their conversation. “Blake, you S _aved_ me. You’ve given me a second chance. You’ve given me a _better_ chance. I wasn’t ready to die. There’s still so much I need to do, places I want to visit. I want to see Ruby grow up, I want to see Winter reunited with her sister, I want to see a tyrannical king overpowered by the people he’s meant to serve and protect. I want to see a world where everyone is safe and happy.”

“Yang, I’ve lived a very long time and I haven’t seen those things happen yet. I don’t want to be a pessimist but the world isn’t built for that kind of harmony. Evil will always exist.”

“That doesn’t mean we need to give it a platform,” Yang replied. “We choose what we listen to, what we believe in, right?”

“Yes,” Blake replied softly.

“I remember reading stories about Immortals when I was younger. They were painted as evil people, serving evil leaders. They were bad. Of course, I always thought they were just bedtime stories, you know? And in the little time I’ve been here, you’ve shown me that those stories were untrue. _People_ inspire people. You’ve inspired this entire settlement, Blake. You must know that.”

Blake rolled her eyes. “I have done very little to deserve that recognition.”

“Who did it, then? Who got the settlement started?”

“Weiss, mostly.”

“By herself?” Yang challenged.

“Well, no.”

“Exactly.”

Blake found herself laughing. “You’d make a very good politician with argumentative skills like that.”

“Nah. Politics are boring.”

“Depends which side you’re on, I suppose,” Blake mused and Yang could tell that she was thinking about something from her past.

_I know it’s not polite to ask a woman her age but this is an exception to that rule, surely?_

Yang watched Blake’s face as her expression became remorseful and she decided to leave that line of questioning for another time.

“What does being an Immortal entail?” she asked instead.

“In what respect?” Blake asked. Yang could tell she wasn’t entirely present in their conversation.

“Do I have to join a secret Immortal society? Do I have to swear allegiance to you? Do I have to keep it a secret?”

Blake seemed to snap out of her thoughts and her eyes focused on Yang’s face once more. “We have no secret society and you don’t have to swear allegiance to me. We will always have a connection because I was the one that Saved you but beyond that, we don’t need to have any kind of relationship.”

_But what if I want to be close to you?_

Yang bit her lip to stop the words from tumbling out. She believed Blake was being honest with her; it was a weird situation that they were both dealing with. Yang didn’t know what to expect and Blake did. She had to trust that Blake knew best.

“In terms of keeping it a secret, I would suggest not advertising it to all and sundry,” Blake said. “Being an Immortal does not mean that you cannot be killed. We still bleed, we can still hurt, we can still be killed. Granted, it takes a great deal more effort to kill an Immortal but there are people who don’t like that some of us possess more power than them simply by breathing.”

“Ah. That would be the evil that always exists?”

“That it would be.” Blake took a deep breath. “It can be lonely, this life. I can’t tell you what to do, Yang, but I would offer you some advice – be very wary of who you trust with this secret. Even those I thought would accept me regardless have turned their backs on me when I needed them most.”

“Blake,” Yang whispered, taking her hand again. “I’m so sorry that you ever went through a time when you were alone.” She tried to stop the words tumbling from her mouth, “For what it’s worth, I have no intention of turning from you.”

“You’re going back to Vale, Yang,” Blake said in a tone of resignation.

_Wait. Could that be why she’s downplaying this connection? I mean, I don’t know all the details but I know that I’ve never felt this connected to someone before and I know it’s not just the whole Immortal thing because I felt it when I was still human._

Yang sat up and moved closer to Blake. “Blake, I plan to return to Vale purely to free the people there. I don’t want to stay there. I want to stay here, with you.”

Blake shook her head. “It’s just the Awakening, Yang. It’s not-“

“Awakening? What’s that?” Yang interrupted with a frown.

“Oh, it’s the process that you’re currently going through. It’s the first few days of your Immortal life.”

“Okay, thank you for explaining that. I still have a few questions but they can wait.” Yang took both of Blake’s hands in hers and held them tightly. “Look at me, Blake.” Yang was willing to test just how deep their connection went if Blake refused but luckily, she didn’t.

As soon as their eyes met, neither of them moved.

“So this part is normal?” Yang whispered.

“No,” Blake breathed.

“Okay. So there’s a chance that what we’re experiencing right now has nothing to do with the Awakening, nothing to do with the fact that you Saved me, and could have everything to do with the fact that I could quite happily stare at you forever.”

Blake nodded but her gaze didn’t falter.

“Good to know,” Yang murmured, feeling her heart rate increase tenfold. “If it’ll make you happy, we can wait a few days and see if this dissipates but I think we both know that there’s something else at play here.”

“Maybe,” Blake whispered.

Yang smiled, deciding to park the conversation. She’d planted enough of a seed in Blake’s mind to hopefully get her to consider the real meaning of whatever their connection meant.

 _I don’t know what a standard connection between an Immortal and someone they Save should be but this_ feels _like something more. I don’t know why, I don’t know how but I just know that this is something big. We’re going to be something big._

“So, do we have superpowers?” Yang asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

Blake burst out laughing.

* * *

“Ruby swears that she doesn’t remember anything about Patch but I think that she does,” Yang mused. “I think she doesn’t want to tell me because I do remember and it’ll make me sad.”

“Are all your memories of Patch sad ones?” Blake asked quietly, shuffling her body a little closer to Yang’s. They were laying on the bed facing one another, holding hands.

Yang sighed. “Unfortunately. I never knew my mom and her brother, my uncle, was always around, always drunk and always angry. He was best friends with my dad so he was never going to turn him away. It also meant that he had a drinking buddy.” She shook her head as scenes swam in her mind. “When Mom died – Ruby’s mom – it got even worse. Ruby was a few months old and I had just turned four. I had to suddenly take care of her when I could barely tie my own shoelaces.”

“Yang, I’m so sorry,” Blake murmured, squeezing the hand she still held. “It seems like you created a better life for you and Ruby in Vale, all things considered.”

“Yeah, I guess. I mean, when I first joined the army, I loved it. The training was intense and it made me realise how far I could push myself. It tested my limits and it turns out, my limits are pretty far. That set me apart from everyone, and not just because I was a scrappy teenage girl fighting with men twice her size,” Yang said with a soft laugh. “But Ruby really found her place. Once Pietro started showing her designs and blueprints, I just knew that she was going to be okay. And that’s honestly all I want. Ruby means the world to me and I will always do whatever it takes to make sure that she’s safe.”

“You’re a great sister, Yang. And I have no doubt that Ruby knows it.”

“Yeah, she does. She didn’t like that I was going on this mission and I don’t know what I’m going to tell her but I know that I’m going to have to say something eventually.”

“Well, yeah. She may start noticing that you aren’t ageing in a few years,” Blake teased with a grin.

It suddenly dawned on Yang that she wasn’t going to age. She was going to look twenty-three for the rest of her life. “Huh,” she murmured. “Wait, do I still age? Like, I’ll still always be older than Ruby, even if she _looks_ older than me, right?”

Blake smiled. “There’s no right or wrong answer to that, Yang. Age is merely a number but, in your mind, Ruby will probably always be your little sister.”

“Yeah…” Yang grinned at Blake, feeling completely at ease in close proximity to a near-stranger. Not that Blake felt like a stranger anymore. Regardless of their connection, Yang had been telling Blake about her life for the past few hours. She couldn’t call them strangers anymore.

“So what about you?” Yang asked. “Tell me about your family.”

Blake’s smile fell off her face and she pulled her hand away from Yang for the first time in hours. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Yang frowned. “Why not?”

“It’s…complicated.”

“I won’t judge you or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Yang said.

“No, it’s not that. I just…don’t want to.”

Yang felt a sharp stab in her chest. She wasn’t sure what it was from but it felt appropriate. “Right. So this whole getting to know you thing was only ever about you getting to know me. I don’t get to know you in return? That’s real nice, Blake.”

Yang rolled over to hide the hurt on her face. As close as she’d felt to Blake a minute ago, it was like a chasm had been shoved between them.

“Yang, I’m sorry,” Blake murmured. “I didn’t say that to hurt you. I’ve got a much longer history and it’s not all good. In fact, most of it isn’t good.”

“You could have just said that,” Yang mumbled. She suddenly felt very tired and unlike last time, it wasn’t coming from Blake. She could tell that the sun was just rising and Blake had explained that their Immortal bodies preferred the night so her natural sleep pattern was probably going to shift. She pushed herself up and moved off the bed.

“Where are you going?” Blake whispered.

“To find somewhere to sleep.”

“You can sleep here.”

“This is your space, Blake,” Yang replied, glancing back at her. Blake was sitting up, eyes keenly on her. “I’m not going to encroach even more than I already have.”

_And also, I don’t feel like you want me here right now either. I don’t feel like I want to be here right now, even though I don’t want to leave you._

“Yang, please don’t go.” She could hear the need in Blake’s voice and part of Yang wanted to be selfish, wanted Blake to feel as hurt as she did.

_Well, maybe she can with this connection we have._

“I accept that you’re my Elder, Blake, and I will always respect you and fight for you. I hope that one day you’ll respect me enough to tell me the truth,” Yang said, walking to the chaise and getting comfortable.

“You’re right,” Blake murmured. “It’s not fair for me to expect to hear your life story and offer nothing in return.”

“It was just the way you said it. You didn’t want to,” Yang explained.

“I… I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Yang hadn’t expected their night (or day) to end the way it had but perhaps real life wasn’t always like those fairy tales she used to read to Ruby before bed.

* * *

Blake jerked awake, breathing heavily. The memories of her nightmares faded slowly into the recesses of her mind.

“Blake?”

She jumped in surprise.

“Sorry,” Yang murmured, holding up her hands. She was kneeling next to her on the bed. “You were making noises in your sleep. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Blake tried to remember to breathe because all she could focus on was the concern radiating from Yang and it made her heart beat really fast – and not from the nightmare.

“Um, y-yeah. I’m okay. I just have nightmares.”

Yang frowned. “Do you need anything?”

“No, I’ll be okay. I’ll fall back asleep soon. Sorry to have woken you.”

Yang lifted a shoulder and turned around to go back to the chaise. “My stomach did the tugging thing. It woke me up. I was dead asleep.”

Blake wasn’t sure how she felt about the deflection. She remembered very clearly how she’d messed up before they’d gone to bed. She pushed herself up on one elbow. “Yang,” she murmured.

Yang turned around.

“Will you lay in the bed with me?”

Blake could see Yang considering it and although she was trying really hard not to broadcast how much she needed the grounding of another person next to her, she was sure that Yang picked up on it. Weiss did all the time. She told Blake frequently how annoying it was, even though she still cuddled her when Blake had nightmares.

“Yeah, sure.”

Blake pushed the covers down to give Yang space. She lay back against the pillows and tried to calm her breathing down – both from the nightmare and knowing that Yang was going to be sleeping next to her.

“Night,” Yang murmured once she’d gotten comfortable.

“Good night,” Blake whispered back. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Yang asked around a yawn. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Just being here makes the world of difference for me,” Blake choked out, immediately feeling embarrassed. She turned, facing away from Yang, closing her eyes in the hopes that she could block out any further foot-in-mouth moments.

A few moments later, she felt a warm presence behind her. Wondering if she could be that lucky, Blake glanced over her shoulder. Yang was looking at her with an intense expression. Blake couldn’t read it or sense it.

“Would you like me to hold you?” Yang asked.

Blake’s answer was immediate. “Yes, please.”

Yang nodded and settled behind Blake. Her right arm rested comfortably on Blake’s hip but Blake needed more. She didn’t dwell on the fact that she just needed _Yang_. She grabbed Yang’s hand and pulled it to her chest, forcing Yang to shuffle even closer behind her.

“You’re okay, Blake. I’m here,” Yang murmured, her breaths brushing the bare skin of her shoulder where her shirt had moved.

Blake didn’t say anything. She settled against her pillow and against Yang and closed her eyes, falling asleep again much easier than she expected to.


	9. Chapter 9

Yang gradually awoke and was surprised at how well rested she felt. She wasn’t sure of the time but blinked her eyes open to glance at the window that was above the chaise. She didn’t see any light coming through.

_Must be sunset or maybe even later._

Yang took a deep breath as her muscles started to wake up. She turned her head from the window and looked to her left. Blake was still fast asleep on the pillow next to her. Yang’s hand was still in Blake’s, even though the grip was loose in Blake’s slumber.

_She’s so damn beautiful. How is it even possible for one person to be so beautiful?_

Yang remembered the way their conversation had ended the night before and what had happened a few hours later. She didn’t regret comforting Blake for one second but she did know that Blake owed her more than the apology she’d given the night before.

Or was it that morning?

Yang knew that she’d have to re-evaluate how her days worked in her mind but she figured she was doing pretty okay considering she’d been an Immortal for all of two days.

Or was it three?

Yang frowned to herself. If she’d been at the manor for three days and she’d travelled for three days prior to that, she’d been away from Vale for almost a week. She didn’t want to worry but deep inside her gut, guilt started gnawing at her. It was far more unpleasant than the tugging she got when Blake was near her.

She started feeling antsy, like she needed to do something. She didn’t want to risk waking Blake who clearly needed to sleep a little longer else she’d have awoken with Yang. Newly Awakened or not, Yang knew that she and Blake would always be keenly attuned to each other.

_And at least Blake acknowledges that part of whatever this connection between us._

Hearing Blake’s uncertainty about what their connection was gave Yang a lot of hope that it could be something really special, something wonderful. Perhaps, it could even be something she’d been waiting for her entire life.

Spending the entire night talking to Blake had felt incredible. Blake was attentive and funny and caring and Yang knew that she remembered everything they’d spoken about because Blake had asked questions later that pertained to their conversations.

She gave herself a few moments to take in Blake’s beautiful face – not that she’d ever forget it – before carefully extrapolating her hand from Blake’s. Yang was gentle as she moved off the bed, not jostling it at all. As soon as her feet touched the floors, she felt a strange vibration run through her body. She also heard a voice – someone was yelling. Or was it cheering? Yang frowned and walked quietly over to the chaise where she’d put her boots and weapons before Blake had woken up the night before. She picked up her boots and grimaced at the blood stains that she knew were going to be a pain to get out. They were her favourite pair of boots too. Yang glanced at her reflection in the big mirror as she passed it and winked at herself. She still couldn’t believe that she’d been practically dead a few days before.

With each step that Yang took, she could feel vibrations underneath her feet. Taking a moment, she focused on them and her ears picked up running water.

_The pipes?_

The more Yang concentrated, the more she could track where the pipes were in the manor house.

_Well, that’s pretty cool._

Yang grinned to herself. She had no doubt that she was going to enjoy being an Immortal, even if she didn’t know entirely was it entailed yet. With one last glance back at Blake – who had shuffled onto Yang’s pillow in her absence – Yang opened the door noiselessly and slipped into the hallway.

Remembering the way out from the day before, Yang walked down a long hallway until she reached a grand staircase. She remembered the library right next to it and just a quick whiff told her that Blake’s scent was all over that room.

_She did have an awful lot of books in her bedroom. I guess she has to do something to keep her mind occupied for eternity._

The thought of spending an eternity with Blake sent a little thrill through Yang’s body and she grinned wider, jumping onto the bannister and sliding down the staircase.

“Oh, Miss Xiao Long. I didn’t hear you rise.”

Yang remembered the butler when she returned to the manor house the night before. She wasn’t sure if he was an Immortal; she didn’t get that sense from him, but he certainly knew everything that went on in the house.

“Hey, Kline. I was super quiet when I left Blake’s room. She was still sleeping and I didn’t want to wake her.”

Kline smiled, his bushy moustache curling upwards. “I’m glad to hear Lady Belladonna is getting some much needed rest.”

“Yeah, me too. I don’t think she normally sleeps very well so the fact that she’s had two nights, or days, I guess, of good sleep is a check in my book.”

“I agree.”

“So, uh, what do you guys do for food around here?” Yang asked. “I haven’t eaten in what feels like days.”

“I’m fairly certain that’s correct, Miss Xiao Long.”

“Oh, please call me Yang. Or if you want to be super formal, Cap will do. I’m not big on titles.”

“Very well…Cap,” Kline replied, testing out the new name. “Most of the settlement is enjoying a feast at the moment. There may still be some food left. If not, I’ll be happy to whip something up in the kitchen for you.”

“You’re sweet. I’ll check out the feast and if there’s nothing left, I’ll make myself something. And for you, Blake and Weiss as well, if they’re both still sleeping.”

“There’s really no need for-“

Yang held up a hand. “I always pull my weight, Kline. It wouldn’t feel right to me that you do all these things around here and no one does anything for you.”

Kline laughed. “It’s my job. I’m the butler.”

“Well, I don’t know what I am in this household,” Yang replied with a chuckle of her own. “But you won’t have to worry about taking care of this house all by yourself.”

“Thank you, Mi-uh, Cap. Thank you, Cap,” Kline said with a respectful incline of his head.

“You’re welcome, Kline.” Yang patted the top of his bald head and opened the front door, grinning at the evening air settling around her. She pulled on her boots and walked quickly towards the sounds of cheers and laughter.

It wasn’t difficult to locate the open area where tables had been set up any which way with platters and bowls littering almost all of them.

“Cap!”

Yang grinned as Benji stumbled over to her, whatever liquid was in his tankard spilling over in his clumsiness.

“Hey, you slept like, all day!” he slurred, throwing an arm around her shoulders.

Yang leaned back and wrinkled her nose. “Damn, Benji. I think you need to lay off whatever this is. You reek on a good day. Now you smell downright awful.”

Benji sniffed his armpit. “But I bathed!” he protested.

“When?”

He looked down at his fingers, counting. Yang chuckled and rolled her eyes. She took the tankard from him and sniffed it. It didn’t smell too bad so she took a sip before quickly downing the whole thing.

“Damn, that was good,” she said, wrapping an arm around Benji’s waist and heading for the table where she saw the rest of her men sitting and laughing. It made her exceptionally happy to see smiles on every face around her.

_What a pleasant change from the feasts in Vale._

“Cap!”

“You’re awake!”

“Hey, guys,” Yang said, depositing Benji in the space next to Jack. She moved to the head of the table and held up the empty tankard. “What the hell is this and where can I get some more?”

“I can refill that for you, Miss,” a voice next to her offered.

Yang turned and her eyes widened. “You!”

Dark eyes widened in surprise. “Me?”

“Mom!”

A little body collided with the woman who had offered to refill Yang’s tankard.

“Elijah, you should be getting ready for your bath, young man,” the woman chided quietly.

“But I-“ his voice trailed off as he saw Yang. “You!” he shouted with a big smile.

Yang grinned and kneeled down. “Hey, little man. See, I told you she’d be okay.”

“Oh,” the woman murmured, suddenly realising who Yang was.

Yang stood up again. “Sorry for how I reacted. A lot of that day was a bit of a blur for me. I’m sorry that I didn’t seek you out sooner. Here.” Yang stepped aside and took the big jug from the woman. Geo immediately stood up and offered his seat.

“Oh, thank you, but that’s not necessary.”

“Nonsense,” Yang said. “A woman should always have a moment during a night of celebration to partake in said celebrations.” She poured some of the concoction into the tankard. “To mothers who will do anything to protect their little boys.”

The woman’s eyes shimmered with tears and she smiled. “I suppose I can’t deny a toast like that.”

“Definitely not.”

After downing the contents of the tankard, the entire table cheered, causing the woman to blush and giggle. “Oh, heavens. It’s been a while since I’ve had some lotus juice.”

“Lotus juice?” Yang asked. “Can’t say I’ve heard of that before.

“Oh, Ren makes it. It’s his own recipe but everyone here loves it.”

_Huh, who’d have thought that quiet, shy Ren makes incredible drinks?_

“I’m Yang, by the way,” Yang said, holding her hand out to the woman.

“I’m Salem.” The woman shook her hand warmly. “And this is Elijah.”

“The bravest boy on the day!” Yang declared, kneeling down again. She held up a fist and Elijah’s eyes grew big. Fist bumps were reserved for the army and was the ultimate sign of brotherhood amongst the soldiers.

“Me?” he whispered.

“Of course,” Yang replied easily. “You’re not gonna leave your captain hanging, are you, soldier?”

“No, sir!” Elijah bumped Yang’s fist with his and the table cheered once more.

“He’s going to idolise you for life now,” Salem said with a smile.

“There are worse things.” Yang replied with a wink. She met Elijah’s eyes again. “Now I recall your mother mentioning something about a bath. My soldiers _always_ listen to their moms and they definitely always have baths. Smelly soldiers will just not do.”

“Yes, Captain!” Elijah said seriously, saluting.

“At ease, Private.” Yang stood up and put her hands behind her back. “Good soldiers are polite, respectful, helpful and healthy. Are you all of those things, Private?”

“I…um…yes?”

“Are you asking or telling me, soldier?” Yang asked, keeping her tone light.

“Yes, Captain!” Elijah yelled.

Salem hushed him as the rest of the soldiers chuckled.

“This is excellent news, Private. I expect a stellar report back from your mother in one week. Do we have an understanding?”

“Yes, Captain!” Elijah yelled again, prompting more laughs as more attention was drawn to the little performance.

“Excellent. At ease, Private. On your way.”

Elijah saluted and sprinted away.

“Thank you,” Salem said with a proud smile. “Elijah loves anything army-related. His father was a Corporal but after his leg injury, he was discharged and we were left with very little. It’s why we left Vale. We stumbled upon this settlement quite by accident.”

Yang smiled. “A happy accident?”

“Oh, definitely.”

“I’m well aware of the image that most people have of the Vale Army but we aren’t like that,” Yang said, gesturing to herself and the men behind her. “We abhor the injustice that every single person has been subjected to under a tyrannical and selfish king. If there’s anything that you need, please let me know.”

“Th-Thank you, Captain,” Salem stammered, clearly overwhelmed. “Oz and I are so grateful to have found a place here. I hope you’re planning on staying?”

Yang glanced back at her soldiers who were all looking at her curiously. “It is my intention to stay here,” she said for them to hear too, “once I return from Vale with those who no longer want to live there.”

“Cap, you sure you wanna go back given the reason we left in the first place?” Jack asked.

“Ruby’s still there. I made a promise to her…and to Winter. I can’t leave them there. I won’t.”

“And exactly what is your plan, Captain?”

Yang smiled at the challenging tone and saw Weiss, who was standing a few feet away with her arms folded across her chest. Yang marvelled at how put together she always looked.

“Honestly, I don’t have one right now,” Yang replied. “I take things one step at a time. My initial goal was to get here, which I did.”

“Barely,” Weiss scoffed.

“True. But had you and boss lady helped out a little, things may not have got to that point,” Yang sassed back. While she understood Blake’s point of view on the fight that had almost killed her, Weiss didn’t need to know that.

Weiss rolled her eyes. “You’re not as indestructible as you think.”

Yang perked up at the opportunity. “Show me?”

“What?” That had definitely caught Weiss off guard.

“Cap, that’s royalty,” Jack warned.

“Oh, I’m aware,” Yang replied with a grin. “I bet Ice Princess isn’t used to be challenged by an equal.”

“An equal?” Weiss repeated with indignation. “If you think you and I are equals, you’re about to get a serious wake up call.”

“So you have a few years on me,” Yang replied, kicking her boots off and rolling up her pant legs and shirts sleeves. “That doesn’t mean you can take me.”

“Oh, shit. Fifty lien on the cap,” Jack muttered.

“No chance I’m taking that bet. She’s gonna own the princess.”

“I can hear you,” Weiss said to Yang’s men.

“Yeah, we know,” Jack replied with a laugh.

“Is that the kind of respect Vale soldiers afford royalty?” Weiss asked Yang.

“You haven’t been royalty for ten years, Princess,” Yang reminded her, stepping closer. “You’ve been missing, remember?”

Weiss huffed. “I mean, I wasn’t really. I’ve been here.”

“Yeah, and those who _should_ know, don’t know.” Yang danced from one foot to another, keeping her arms loose. “I could never have left Ruby like that.”

“I…” Weiss looked heartbroken and Yang froze.

_Shit, I didn’t mean to make her sad._

“Weiss, I-“

“You said you’re bringing Winter here, right?” Weiss said abruptly, her blue eyes sharp.

“Yeah.”

“Well, you may not have a plan on how to get her back but I can sure show you how you can protect yourself.”

“Princess, with all due respect, Cap already knows how to do that,” Jack called.

Yang grimaced. “Does the entire settlement know about you and Blake?” she asked quietly.

Weiss nodded.

“But they don’t know about me?”

“I think they’ll assume fairly quickly.”

“Right. Uh, gimme a sec.” Yang turned back to her men. “Okay, so, you guys know I got hurt pretty badly during the Grimm attack.”

Her men nodded.

“So, I was hurt real bad.”

“But you rested up and you’re good as new!” Geo said. He peered at her. “Right?”

“Um, probably better than that.” Yang sighed. “Okay, we all learn better in practice. What you’re about to see is one hundred percent real. It’s not a trick.”

“Cap, you okay?” Jack asked.

“I’m fucking fantastic,” Yang replied with a grin. “Now seriously. Don’t freak out.”

Yang jogged back to where Weiss had moved into a bigger clearing, away from the families still eating.

“Okay, quick question. I’m not gonna hurt myself while we’re testing out all these abilities, am I?”

Weiss smirked. “I thought you knew how to handle yourself.”

“Oh, I do. But I don’t know about any extra abilities that I may now have and I wanted to be aware so that I don’t beat your ass too hard,” Yang replied, matching her smirk.

“I generally don’t advocate violence but I think I’m going to enjoy this.” Weiss leapt forward, quicker than Yang could have anticipated and her fist connected Yang’s jaw. She fell back and slid along the ground for a few metres.

She jumped up immediately, rolling her shoulders. “Okay, lucky shot.” She narrowed her focus on Weiss and suddenly it seemed that Weiss was moving in a slower motion. Yang ran up to her and punched her in the stomach before grabbing her arm and flipping her onto her back.

“How did you-“ Weiss asked in shock as she landed hard on the ground.

“I’m a quick study, Princess,” Yang replied, letting Weiss up. “Let’s go again. Don’t hold back.”

“Yang, are you sure? We are both exceptionally powerful.”

“Oh, should we move away from the settlement? I mean, I wouldn’t hurt anyone here.”

“No, you dolt. Blake will kill me if I hurt her pet.”

“Pet?” Yang laughed out loud. “I am nobody’s pet.”

“Try and stay on your feet,” Weiss warned before darting forward.

Once again, Yang focused on Weiss and this time, Weiss was moving at normal speed. Given that Yang could move at the same speed, it made the fight a lot easier. Weiss threw punch after punch and kick after kick. Yang had trained extensively in hand-to-hand combat with her men and as much as she loved her weapons, she was just as effective with her fists. She danced with Weiss, dodging every single attack, some coming close to connecting but none actually landing.

“Well, well,” Weiss said, slowing down. “I’m impressed.”

“I can tell that doesn’t happen too often,” Yang snarked. “My turn.”

With a burst of speed, Yang jumped, far higher and further than she ever had before, landing a good few metres behind Weiss.

“Oh, that’s so cool,” Yang breathed, getting down on her haunches and jumping straight up. She shot above the tree lines and could see the distant twinkling lights of the coastal villages to the west. She landed safely, leaving a number of cracks in the ground under her feet.

“Go, Cap!” she heard Jack yell.

Satisfied that her men weren’t entirely freaked out by her sudden advanced abilities, Yang ran to Weiss, feigning a roundhouse kick but dropped to her knees at the last split second and slid between Weiss’ open legs, using her knuckles to hit the back of Weiss’ knees as she did so. She stood up as Weiss crumbled.

“How did you do that?”

“Everything that I have learned for the last decade is increased tenfold. All my fighting styles, all my combat experience is still here.” Yang tapped the side of her head.

“This is just…” Weiss faltered as she tried to stand up again.

Yang cocked her head. “Weiss, isn’t this something that normally happens for new Immortals?”

Weiss took a deep breath. “Yang, are you feeling any discomfort right now being so far away from Blake?”

“I mean, the pull in my gut is constant but it’s not like it was when I first woke up or when she was having a nightmare.”

“She had a nightmare?” Weiss asked.

“Yeah, but I lay with her and she fell asleep again pretty easily.”

“Oh, that’s…”

“Weiss, you’re not telling me something,” Yang said, suddenly worried that she was missing some grand reveal. There was really only one thing she needed to know.

_Am I dangerous?_

“I can only speak from my experience and what Blake has told me about previous Awakenings, but from the start, you’ve thwarted everything we thought we knew. You woke up after less than twenty-four hours of being Saved. You were able to have comprehensive conversations with not only Blake, but me and other people mere hours after your Awakening.”

“Yeah, Blake mentioned something about that.”

“It’s like you’re doing this at super speed with no adverse effects,” Weiss concluded.

“Is that…bad?” Yang asked quietly.

“I…don’t know,” Weiss whispered.

* * *

For the second time in two days, when Blake awoke, it was with an ease she wasn’t used to. She was in the middle of the bed, her face mushed into the pillow that Yang had been sleeping on. As Blake inhaled and yawned, Yang’s scent enveloped her and she let out an involuntary moan.

_Oh, so mature._

Once the Awakening was over, things wouldn’t be so intense. Blake would be able to look at Yang without feeling like her heart was going to beat out of her chest and she wouldn’t feel the pull in her gut that she knew Yang felt towards her, and she hadn’t felt since her own Awakening.

_Nope, not going down that rabbit hole._

Blake glanced up at the ceiling. It had been too long since she’d visited them and she had never gone three days without seeing them before.

Yang was certainly…distracting.

Blake reached out and sensed that Yang and Weiss were close to the manor house and were…sparring?

_That can’t be right. Yang won’t have that level of control for at least another two days._

Then again, Yang hadn’t exactly stuck to the standard process of becoming an Immortal. She was quite obviously special so maybe she had already gained enough control over her senses to start using her heightened abilities.

Blake pushed back the covers and climbed out of the bed. She walked into her bathroom and ran a bath. Once the water was warm enough, she climbed in and let the water soak into her bones. Even after nine hundred years, a relaxing bubble bath was still sometimes all she needed to feel calm.

_Well, that and probably some of the best sleep I’ve had in a century._

Blake knew that her body was completely awake and alert so she wasn’t at risk of falling asleep in the bath – which had happened on more than one occasion. Blake shook her hair of excess water and dried herself. She dressed quickly in comfortable clothes since she had no plans to go anywhere or fight anything.

_Yeah, cos Grimm attacks are definitely things that are planned._

Blake was still perplexed about the Grimm attack on Yang and her soldiers. Even Yang had voiced her concerns and Blake had felt her confusion. She vowed to keep an eye on Yang’s men to see if any of them could have sabotaged her. From what Yang had said about them, she trusted them all with her life and even though she didn’t know her all that well yet, Blake could tell that Yang was a great judge of character.

Blake walked behind the chaise and nudged the dark and heavy curtains to one side, revealing a balcony door. She walked onto her small balcony and pulled the door closed behind her. She glanced up at the sky and estimated that sunset had been and gone about an hour ago.

_When last did I sleep an hour after sunset?_

Blake crouched and jumped, clearing the top of the manor house and landing quietly on the roof. Parts of the roof were flat where Weiss had a little garden and Blake had her special spot. She heard cheers coming from the other side of the house and walked across, curiosity getting the better of her. Her mouth dropped open as she saw Weiss and Yang in a full sparring match.

_Holy shit. Yang really is incredible._

Yang was moving just as quickly as Weiss and Blake could tell neither of them were landing any hits. They were very evenly matched and Weiss had ten years of Immortality on Yang.

Yang suddenly stopped and spun around, her eyes locking onto Blake’s. Although she’d experienced it before, it still took Blake’s breath away how she completely froze in that moment. How they both froze. It was like no one else existed but the two of them.

Which was very, very dangerous.

 _It’s the Awakening_ , Blake chastised herself.

But even she was having more and more trouble convincing herself of that.

* * *

Yang was quite happy to stay in that frozen state for hours. She loved feeling like she and Blake were in their own bubble.

Blake visibly took a deep breath to shake herself from the eye lock and turned away from the edge of the roof. Yang turned to Weiss and pressed her fist to her palm in a sign of thanks after sparring.

“Get some sleep, guys!” Yang yelled to her men, most of whom had nodded off at the table as she and Weiss had continued to spar.

Yang ran to the side of the house where Blake had disappeared and jumped, grabbing the sill of the third story window. She quickly pulled herself up and climbed the rest of the way to the roof, the brickwork making for easy footholds.

_Oh, I’m still not wearing any shoes. Oh, well._

Yang reached the roof and climbed on easily. She stood up and glanced around. There was a little garden in the corner to her left and Yang followed the tug in her gut to where she figured Blake would be, which was to the right.

She found her pretty quickly and slowed her pace as she tried to gauge how Blake was feeling. She didn’t want to overstep. Yang closed her eyes and reached out through their connection. The overwhelming emotion she got back surprised and concerned her.

Blake was _sad_. But like, devastatingly sad.

Once Yang got close enough to see where Blake was, she understood. Blake was kneeling in front of three tombstones.

_Maybe this is what she didn’t want to tell me about last night._

Yang bit her lip and made a decision. She walked forward and sat next to Blake; close enough for her to reach for physical comfort if she needed it but also with enough distance so that Blake wasn’t overcrowded.

The minutes ticked by as they sat there in silence and the grief rolling off Blake had Yang swallowing back tears. Whomever those graves belonged to, Blake had every right to keep them a secret from Yang. They didn’t have that kind of trust and dependency in their relationship yet.

_Hopefully one day she can tell me. Hopefully one day we can come up here and she doesn’t feel so sad._

Yang kept her mind clear so that Blake wasn’t bombarded with any unnecessary emotions from her. Blake was hurting and Yang was not about to let Blake feel alone for any second of that. She accepted that she didn’t know the reason or reasons why Blake was upset but she was determined to be there for her.

After a few hours of sitting in silence, Blake stood up. Yang followed suite slowly. When Blake turned and headed for the edge, Yang followed.


	10. Chapter 10

The following evening, Yang was in the stables, mucking out the stall that Bumblebee had taken up residence in. While the stable hand had insisted that he could do it, Yang wanted to contribute. She felt like she’d done nothing since arriving in the settlement, except perhaps give everyone a bit of a show at the feast the previous night sparring with Weiss.

Bumblebee nudged her shoulder forcefully.

“Hey, don’t be rude!” Yang chided with a smile. “I was thinking thoughts.”

Bumblebee snorted.

“What? I can have thoughts! Deep thoughts, even.”

Bumblebee nudged her again.

“Whatever. I’m a perfectly capable thinking being.” She retrieved the apple from her pocket that she knew Bumblebee had been after the whole time. “You’re so judgemental,” she added before tossing the apple to Bumblebee, who caught it easily and crunched happily.

Once Yang was done with the mucking, she grabbed some replacement hay bales and stacked them in the corner of Bumblebee’s stall. She took Bumblebee’s grooming brush and started brushing her down – a long overdue task that she’d neglected even during her previous mission.

Bumblebee loved the attention and stood proudly while Yang ran the brush over her coat. The methodical process always left Yang with time to think and she considered what had happened between her and Blake the previous night. More so, what _didn’t_ happen. Blake had barely spoken two words to Yang, and she tried really hard not to take it personally, especially as Blake had kept her in close proximity until the sun started rising. After Kline had served them dinner (or was it breakfast?), most of their night was spent in the library and while Yang had seldom had enough down time to actually finish any book that she started, she found a quiet comfort in sitting with Blake on a long couch, their legs intertwined underneath a blanket, sending each other small smiles every now and then.

Yang felt like that was progress. Sure, she still had a lot of questions about the whole Immortal thing but that seemed to take a back seat when it came to fostering her connection with Blake. When Blake had stood up to go to bed, Yang had stayed seated, not wanting to presume that she was welcome in Blake’s bedroom, never mind her bed.

When Blake realised that Yang wasn’t following her, she’d stopped and turned to her with a frown of confusion on her face. That had been enough for Yang and she’d followed Blake back to her bedroom. She’d started on the chaise but soon enough, another nightmare from Blake had Yang holding her tightly as she sobbed quietly.

Yang wanted more than anything to take that sadness away. It physically pained her to see Blake struggling but she wasn’t about to let Blake know that.

_I just need to be there for her in whatever capacity she needs me to be._

Yang knew that the day was fast approaching where she’d be leaving for Vale once more but she also knew that nothing in the world would keep her from returning to Blake. Yang wasn’t sure how long the effects of the Awakening were meant to last but the fact that she was fine spending hours and hours away from Blake told her that perhaps it had already finished.

_I seem to have subverted all expectations regarding Immortals anyway._

Yang sighed and booped Bumblebee on the nose with the brush. Bumblebee whinnied and tossed her head playfully.

“That was a rather heavy sigh,” a voice commented from the entry to the stall.

Yang glanced behind her. She hadn’t even heard Jack walk up. She also hadn’t really been concentrating, to be fair.

“Hey, Jack. How’s life?” she asked, ignoring his remark.

“Well, life is pretty good considering we’re supposed to all be dead.”

Yang rolled her eyes. “That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”

“Perhaps. We still have a lot of repairs to do before we can even think about returning to Vale. We don’t know what’s awaiting us there. Ironwood could have amassed the entire Vale Army against us by now.”

Yang considered that. “It’s possible. I don’t know how many of the soldiers will willingly stand against me. I’ve more than proven my worth to them.”

“There’s a lot that we cannot be certain of, Cap,” Jack countered. “We just need to be prepared.”

“You’re right.” Yang tossed the brush into the bucket on the other side of the stall. “Let’s assess the damage and I can talk to the ladies in charge about using some of the materials here to repair what needs repairing.”

“Uh, about that,” Jack said, shuffling uneasily.

“Spit it out.”

“You were always strong and fast but now you’re so much more than that. What happened, Cap?”

“I’m guessing the others are asking these questions too?”

“Yeah. Can you blame them? None of us expected _that_. And you sleep all day now so it’s not like we can ask you.”

Yang sighed. “Okay. Gather everyone up. I’ll explain as best I can.”

Ten minutes later, Yang stood at the head of one of the feast tables. The evening air held a slight chill but not enough to force the soldiers inside. They’d weathered worse before.

“As succinctly as I can, I’m going to explain what’s been happening with me,” Yang began. She looked at each of her men and found them all expectant, some hesitantly so. “I was gravely injured during the Grimm battle, so much so that I was close to death. Lady Belladonna saved me.”

“Are you an Immortal?” Benji blurted.

Yang stared at him. “Yeah.”

“So…they’re real?” Geo asked with a frown.

“That they are. I always had my suspicions that they were more than myth but I had no idea that they were still in existence,” Yang said.

“And this settlement is protected by one.”

“By two, actually,” Yang correctly. “Three if you include me.”

“Wait, Cap, are you protecting this settlement now?”

“I will be, once I return from Vale with Ruby, Queen Winter and anyone else who wants to come.” Yang paused. “I understand that this may be a lot to digest. Also, I want you all to know that you are not expected to come back to Vale with me and if you do, you are not expected to return to this settlement should you choose to stay in the kingdom. My position in this conflict has now shifted and I’m starting to understand that I have a bigger role to play than what I initially wanted.”

“Because you’re an Immortal?”

“Not entirely, although that has certainly been a factor,” Yang replied. ”We’ll need to inventory our weapons and armour so that arrangements can be made for any repairs or replacements before we leave.”

“When do we head back, Cap?” Jack asked.

“It depends on how many repairs and replacements we need but I’d like to set a tentative departure date for two days’ time. At sunset.”

“Sounds doable.” Jack stood up. “Alpha team, inventory weapons. Bravo team, inventory armour. Report back in two hours.”

“Aye!” the men chorused, dispersing.

Yang was about to say something to Jack when she sensed Blake nearby. She turned up to roof and saw her walking slowly along the edge, looking down at Yang. Their eyes met and Blake’s steps faltered slightly. Yang smiled.

“I’ll be back for the inventory report,” she said to Jack, her eyes not leaving Blake’s as she walked towards the house.

“Aye, Cap,” Jack responded with a chuckle.

Yang scaled the wall with ease and followed Blake to the same spot as the night before. She sat down next to her without a word and cleared her mind. She endeavoured to speak to Blake about her plans once they left the roof. She understood that whatever Blake was going through, she couldn’t – _wouldn’t_ – speak and Yang was happy to be there for her, albeit in silence.

* * *

Blake couldn’t explain why she hadn’t asked Yang to leave. When Weiss had offered to visit them with her, Blake had quickly refused. She didn’t want anyone else seeing her so vulnerable.

_So why is it that I feel so much calmer with Yang here?_

The fact that Yang had simply followed her without any request or any expectation furthered Blake’s belief that Yang truly was someone special.

The way that Yang always looked to her lead without being asked, how she made sure that Blake was comfortable when really, it should be Blake checking that _she_ was comfortable, being a new Immortal and all.

 _She’s taken to it more naturally than I’ve seen anyone_ , Blake mused.

It was truly a sight to behold. Yang was effortless in everything she did. Physically, non-verbally, emotionally – it all seemed so easy for her. Blake knew it was because she followed her heart, something Blake had stopped doing a long time ago.

Blake sighed noiselessly and shifted from kneeling to sitting, pulling her knees close to her chest. She could feel Yang right next to her. She was close enough for Blake to just-

_Stop. You need to stop this co-dependency._

Blake swallowed. She felt like she was in uncharted territory. Yang’s Awakening was long over; it had been after the second night. She just hadn’t wanted to admit that Yang was that powerful, although with every single thing that she did, Yang proved just how incredible she really was.

While Yang was still discovering the limit of her powers – something Blake was a little nervous about given her proclivity with every other part of her becoming an Immortal – she was, by all means, an independent Immortal. Her tie to Blake would lessen considerably, if it hadn’t started already.

There was a sharp jab in her stomach at the thought of that and Blake saw in her peripheral vision that Yang’s head had turned sharply at the exact same time as the discomfort hit her.

_Can she feel that?_

Hesitantly, Blake turned her head and looked at Yang. Locking eyes with Yang was always, _always_ a dangerous thing to do and her breath caught in her throat as she was once again rendered frozen under that gaze.

_This isn’t the Awakening. This is so much more._

She saw Yang swallow and slowly shift closer to her so that their thighs were touching. Yang offered an encouraging smile and Blake felt a rush of… _something_ up her spine.

_So much more._

Blake forced their gazes to separate as she focused on the names in front of her.

_Spirits, help me. I don’t know what to do here._

The only thing that Blake was sure of, was that her mind was calmer when Yang was around, especially when they were touching. Blake surreptitiously (she hoped) shuffled closer to Yang and after giving herself a little pep talk, rested her head on Yang’s shoulder. The warmth flowed through her immediately.

_How is she always so warm? Maybe that will fade once she settles into her Immortality._

Blake closed her eyes and let Yang’s closeness wash over her. She knew that she was being too co-dependent. She knew that Yang was getting ready to leave. She knew that there was a probability that Yang wouldn’t come back. She knew that the Awakening was finished, and Yang would cope perfectly fine large distances away from her. The thought of Yang leaving left a bitter taste in Blake’s mouth, but she didn’t know what to do without it.

For the first time in her nine hundred years of Immortality, Blake had no control over what was going to happen.

And that scared her more than anything.

* * *

Yang felt like Blake may have nodded off on her shoulder when they’d been sitting on the roof for almost three hours but the constant turmoil that she felt from Blake made her think that perhaps she was lost in her thoughts.

 _I hope I don’t have her thoughts in turmoil_ , she wondered. _I don’t want to ever be the reason for negativity in Blake’s life._

Blake stood up suddenly, clearing her throat quietly. Yang jumped up next to her, waiting to see what the next move was. She was acutely aware that Jack was waiting for her to report on their weapons and armour. While her night and day had flipped, she needed to remember that most people – humans – slept at night.

Blake looked at Yang, opening her mouth to say something and Yang lifted her eyebrows expectantly, but Blake’s brow furrowed, and she pursed her lips.

Yang sighed quietly. _It’ll happen. This is a long road that we’re taking together._

When Blake turned back towards her balcony, Yang bit her lip and held her ground. She knew Blake would soon figure out she hadn’t followed.

Sure enough, Blake stuttered to a halt and turned around.

Yang jerked a thumb back towards the settlement. “I need to check the weapons and armour for repairs and replacements,” she said quietly, not wanting to disrupt the tranquillity of the space.

Blake’s eyes registered understanding and her shoulders seemed to tense up.

_It is because I’m leaving? Is she worried about that?_

Yang quickly stepped up to Blake, taking her hands. “Blake, I have to go back to Vale. I have promises to keep. But,” she held Blake’s gaze, “I _am_ coming back. There is nowhere else that I want to be.”

“The settlement?” Blake whispered.

Yang smiled. “This is a wonderful place and I could absolutely see myself here for many years. But no. The reason I’ll be coming back here is you.”

Blake’s eyes widened and Yang was a little unsure where the surprise stemmed from. She’d thought that she’d made it pretty clear that she was into Blake, that she wanted to explore their connection beyond the Awakening.

_Maybe I need to be explicit. This is unfamiliar for both of us, no doubt. She’s never saved someone like me. Both she and Weiss have expressed their uncertainty over my quick Awakening._

Yang swallowed and stepped closer to Blake, so much so that she could see Blake’s pulse in her neck vibrating against her skin. Gods, she wanted to kiss it so badly.

“Blake, just so that there is no misunderstanding, I realise that the Awakening affects our connection to one another and while I will always respect that part of our connection, I want more than that. I want…”

When Blake’s eyes widened ever so slightly and Yang heard her breath hitch, she _knew_ that Blake was feeling the same thing as her.

_But I can’t rush her. She’s got centuries of emotions to sift through._

“I want you, Blake, in every way you’d be willing to give yourself to me. I’m yours, wholeheartedly.” Yang lifted Blake’s hands to her lips and kissed the knuckles softly. Blake’s fingers tightened around hers.

_There it is. I’ve gone as far as I can. She needs to take the steps to meet me in the middle._

Yang knew that she had a lot to still learn about Blake but she innately knew that enough of a seed had been sown in Blake’s mind for her to confidently take a step back and let Blake make whatever decision she needed to.

_And whatever that decision is, I’ll respect it._

Yang really hoped that her heart wouldn’t be broken. She wanted to explore what she and Blake could be. Not only was she incredibly attracted to her physically, there was so much under the surface that tethered them together. Yang had felt a small percentage of that as a human and it was only amplified as an Immortal, more so that she was Blake’s Immortal.

“I’ll find you later, if you’d like?” Yang said softly, slowly lowering Blake’s hands back down between them.

“May I join you?” Blake asked.

Yang smiled widely. “Of course.” She kept Blake’s hands in hers and started walking backwards.

“Yang,” Blake warned.

“You don’t trust me?”

Blake sighed. “I don’t know yet.”

Yang nodded. “That’s fair.” They could work up to a mutual trust of one another. A lot was still unknown. She grinned. “Race you down!”

She turned and ran to the edge, jumping off and landing on the ground below. She looked up and saw Blake standing in front of her, eyebrow arched with a smirk on her face.

“Okay, _that_ was cool. Is that because you’re older than me?” Yang asked, standing up straight.

Blake nodded. “Partly. I’m not the showman you are. Jumping takes up more time in the air. Just drop off the edge. Much faster.”

Yang eyes sparkled with excitement. “Genius. We’ll have to test that at another time.”

Blake smiled. “You’ll never be able to beat me, Yang. You should probably accept that inevitability now.”

“Hell no. I’m the most stubborn person you’ll ever meet. Even if I lose a thousand times, I’m still gonna try.”

“I wasn’t aware you enjoyed being disappointed,” Blake remarked, turning towards the tents where Yang’s men were staying.

“I don’t think I’ll need to worry about that anymore,” Yang replied, catching up to Blake and linking their fingers together.

Blake glanced at her and smiled shyly but didn’t remove her hand, which made Yang want to do a happy dance.

“Yo, Cap!” Benji called as they approached. “And Cap’s friend,” he added with a grin.

Jack smacked him over the head. He bowed to Blake. “Lady Belladonna, it is an honour to finally meet you. On behalf of this miscreant bunch, please allow me to offer my sincerest gratitude in aiding us, housing us and feeding us.”

Yang watched Blake transform into someone completely different – someone _powerful_ and _regal_ – right in front of her eyes. She couldn’t hold back her gasp.

“Your gratitude is appreciated but unnecessary. Your captain heralds you all and if she vouches for you, that’s good enough for me. The settlement seems to really like you.”

Geo stepped up next to Jack. “You’ve got a great setup here, m’lady. We’ve already spoken about it and we’d love to come back on a more permanent basis after Vale, if that’s all right with you.”

Yang sent Geo and Jack a wink, thanking them for stepping up without her even asking them. She was going to make a formal request to Blake and Weiss anyway about her men staying there permanently.

“Anyone seeking refuge is welcome here,” Blake said with a genuine smile. “Your courtesy is much appreciated, gentleman.”

“Cap’ll skin us alive if we ever speak inappropriately to a lady,” Benji mumbled and Yang could tell he genuinely hadn’t known that ‘Cap’s friend’ was Lady Belladonna.

“Damn right,” she replied. “A woman is a treasure.” She looked at Blake, who was already looking at her with interest. “You treat her like the greatest gift in the world and never take her for granted.”

Blake’s lips curved into a smile and Yang felt it down to her toes. Without meaning to, they got lost in one another until Jack cleared his throat.

“Pardon my interruption but, uh, we have the numbers, Cap. Thought you’d want to discuss before the men kick back for the evening.”

Yang blinked. “Uh, right.” She smiled sheepishly at Blake and turned to her men. Out of habit when addressing her men in a semi-official way, she stood up straight with her arms behind her back. “Report.”

“Pike’s armour is hopeless. Nothing salvageable,” Jack began. “All shields need replacing. They were destroyed by the Nevermore.”

Yang pursed her lips. “Those will have to wait till Vale. Only Ruby knows how to infuse Dust into the metal.”

“She’s not gonna be happy at how much of her gear we lost,” Jack added.

“She’ll get over it as soon as she realises it gives her an excuse to make more,” Yang replied with a smirk. She knew her little sister all too well.

Her men all chuckled in agreement. They would all step in front of a bullet for Yang and that extended to Ruby, which is why she trusted them as much as she did.

“Regrettably, Cap, the only armour that we were able to save was on the horses.”

“Fine. That’s where they’ll stay. We’re not compromising their protection for ours when we can do a lot more.” She turned to Blake, who was watching her with a smirk. Yang matched it. _Looks like we both like it when the other shows a bit of power._ “Lady Belladonna,” Yang saw the reaction of her using Blake’s full title and it sent a thrill through her entire body – one that Blake felt as well. “Do you have a stonemason in the settlement?”

Blake blinked “Uh, yes.” She cleared her throat when her response came out a little croaky. “Yes, we do. I can introduce you, if you’d like?”

“It’s rather late to do so now. If you let me know who they are, Jack and I will make the rounds tomorrow and see if we can come to an arrangement.”

Blake nodded with a smile. Yang winked and turned back to Jack. “Weapons?”

“Thankfully, we just need Dust to replenish our ammo. No weapons have been damaged.”

“We have a Dustmason too,” Blake added. “I’m sure he’d be more than willing to help. His parents are still in Vale.”

Yang nodded, understanding Blake’s unspoken request. It gave her a thought that she would address the following morning with the people in the settlement.

“Weapons inspection tomorrow,” Yang announced. “Oh-seven-hundred. I expect them to be spotless.” She glanced at Benji. “I’m looking at you, Benji.”

“That was _one_ time,” he groaned.

“Aye, Cap,” Jack said with a grin.

“Lights out. Get some sleep, boys.”

“Aye, Cap!” came the chorused response.

Yang stepped back and turned to Blake, offering her arm. Blake immediately took it, stepping in time as they headed back to the house.

“How dangerous do you think the journey back will be?” Blake asked quietly.

“I think that’ll be the easy part, honestly. I don’t think Ironwood had any idea of what he was sending me into – lucky me – and he’s certainly not going to expect me to come back looking like I don’t have a scratch on me.”

“Yang, I don’t think advertising your Immortality to him is a good idea,” Blake warned.

“Oh, I agree wholeheartedly. Outside of this settlement, the only people I plan on telling are Ruby, Maria, Pietro and Winter. And I guess anyone who comes with us back here will figure it out soon enough.”

Blake hummed. Yang stopped and moved in front of Blake to look in her eyes.

“Do you not want me to bring them here? You can say no. This is your home.”

“No, it’s not that. I’m used to a small, quiet settlement. I don’t foresee it staying that way, is all.”

“Is that a good or a bad thing?” Yang asked quietly.

“For me? I don’t know. Is it a good thing for this settlement and for the people here? It definitely will be. So many people here still have family in Vale and, Gods, memories, things that they weren’t able to bring with them when they fled.” Blake shook her head. “I remember all too well what it feels like to have to constantly run away. I never had a place like this to come to. I’m so thankful that I can be a place of solace for those who have nowhere else to go.”

Yang just stared at her, speechless.

“What?” Blake asked, looking down self-consciously.

“N-Nothing,” Yang stammered. “I mean, not nothing. You’re remarkable. Incredible.”

“Stop, I’m nothing special.” Blake started walking away but Yang caught her hand.

“Blake, yes, you are. You’re giving people something that so few have had in years. You’re giving them hope. You’re giving them a future. Right now, their future in Vale is so fragile and you have opened your home and your heart to people you don’t even know just to give them a chance at a better life. I’d say that’s pretty damn special.”

“You’re the one leading them here,” Blake murmured. “What does that make you?”

“Yours,” Yang replied immediately, and then blushed. “Sorry. Uh, I’m the messenger, I guess.”

“No.” Blake stepped closer and Yang rested her hands on Blake’s hips. “You’re their leader, Yang.”

“I hope I can make them proud,” Yang whispered. “And you.”

Blake took a deep breath and locked gazes. “Come back to me. That’s all I ask.”

_Gods, I wanna kiss her. I feel like this is a sign. I should kiss her, right?_

As soon as Yang started leaning in, Blake stepped back, and Yang felt like she’d been punched in the gut.

“Um, Kline will have dinner ready,” Blake mumbled, avoiding Yang’s gaze. She quickly walked towards the manor house.

“Right,” Yang replied, confused as to how she misread the sign. Perhaps she was hoping for something that she wanted but that Blake wasn’t ready for. Yang sighed and followed behind Blake, hoping that she hadn’t totally messed things up.

* * *

“Are you going to explain to me what that whole vibe was tonight?” Weiss asked Blake as they sat in front of the big fireplace in the library.

“What vibe?” Blake asked, staring into the flames.

“Don’t insult me,” Weiss scoffed. “I don’t even have to sense your emotions when you put them on blast like you were tonight. Besides, I know you.”

Blake sighed. She had been an emotional disaster the whole night and she hated that she didn’t know _why_.

“Blake, this is obviously really bugging you and considering that Yang barely said two words the whole night and she’s apparently not going to bed when the sun rises, something else is happening here. Have you told her about the sun’s effects?”

“Yes,” Blake said tiredly. “She hasn’t been affected by the sun when she has been outside.”

“Of course she hasn’t.”

Blake glanced at her. “That sounded an awful lot like jealousy, Weiss.”

Weiss lifted a shoulder. “She’s impressive. Your assessment of her was probably underwhelming. She’s going to be an immensely powerful Immortal. She already is.”

“Yeah…”

“Do I have to read your mind for you to tell me what’s going on?” Weiss asked.

“I…She…” Blake groaned in annoyance. “I don’t know what’s happening! This is really weird for me. The Awakening has been over for days, but I still feel this…this… _pull_ to her and I don’t know what to do!”

Weiss cocked her head with a little smile on her face that infuriated Blake.

“What?” she snapped.

“You like her.”

“Well, of course I do. I Saved her.”

“No, I’m not talking about the obligatory liking of someone you Saved, and you know it.” Weiss moved to the ottoman in front of Blake. “You like her. You’re attracted to her.”

Blake rolled her eyes. “And how do I know this isn’t some latent Awakening crap?”

“Well, your defensive reaction to this tells me that you already know it isn’t and knowing Yang the little bit that I do, she’s probably already told you how she feels, which shakes your control over the whole thing. _And_ there’s the little thing that happened before you Saved her. Remember that?”

Blake closed her eyes. “It’s still happening,” she muttered.

“Really?” Weiss sounded genuinely surprised.

“It’s so annoying! It’s like I can’t stop looking at her even though I know what happens when I do and then she…I dunno, hypnotises me or something.”

Weiss laughed. “Oh my. This is truly the biggest case of denial I’ve ever seen.”

“I’m…not,” Blake said weakly.

“Blake, having feelings for Yang is not going to be the end of the world. Since it appears that she feels the same way, why are you fighting it?”

“Because what if it _isn’t_ real? Her Awakening was an anomaly. No one has ever fully Awakened in a _day_ , Weiss.”

“I think we have both been around long enough to notice when someone has fully Awakened and I think it’s safe to say that Yang is in complete control of her mind and body, and that she’s fully conscious of everything she does.”

Blake pouted, not liking that Weiss was saying everything that her brain had been screaming at her since she’d stepped away from their almost-kiss.

“Are you attracted to Yang?” Weiss asked.

“I-“

“I’m asking _you_ , Blake. I’m not asking about the Awakening. Are _you_ , Blake, attracted to Yang?”

“Yes,” Blake replied reluctantly.

“She helps you calm down, right?”

“Yes.”

“She respects you and what you’ve done here?”

“Yes, probably more than I deserve.”

“Shut up.”

“Weiss!”

“Blake, Yang likes you. Any blind person can see it and if you would take your head out your ass, you’d realise that you’ve been making the same googly faces at her that she’s been making at you. This is no trick. This isn’t about your connection to her as her Elder. This is about Blake and Yang, two people who seem to be crazy about each other so what’s stopping you from seeing where that goes?”

“I…” Blake hated that she didn’t have an answer other than the fact that she was scared.

“She’s not Sun, okay?” Weiss said suddenly.

Blake groaned. “You had to bring that up?”

“I know you still think about it, Blake. You’re not to blame for indulging his advances.”

“He was still in the Awakening, and I took advantage of his devotion to me,” Blake said firmly.

“Perhaps.”

“Weiss, he became obsessed and that’s why the Awakening is so dangerous! I should have known better.”

“He was _one_ person.”

“Yeah, that I had to kill.”

Weiss was quiet and Blake sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“Yang is not Sun. The two can’t be compared. I know you know that and until you accept that, you’ll never be able to be with Yang the way you want to.”

“I can’t go through that again, Weiss. And especially not with her.”

“Can’t go through what exactly? Because we’ve both established that Yang is fully Awakened. She’s an Immortal. There’s no danger for you.”

“Other than the king that wants to kill her,” Blake muttered.

“All the more reason to tell her how you feel!” Weiss said firmly. “Blake, she makes you lighter. I’ve seen it these last few days. She’s a good person, better than you or I ever were as humans. I don’t think she has it in her to be malicious or vindictive or cold.”

“No, she doesn’t,” Blake agreed quietly.

They both glanced at the window as they sensed the sun rising. Weiss covered Blake’s hand.

“Go and find her. Tell her how you feel.”

“How do I even do that? I don’t know how this stuff works anymore, Weiss!”

“Has she shown a romantic interest in you?”

Blake bit her lip.

“That’s a yes,” Weiss said with a chuckle. “Well, then. My suggestion would be to walk right up to her and kiss her. See what happens.”

“Isn’t that a bit…forward? What if she doesn’t want me to?”

Weiss arched an eyebrow. “If Yang doesn’t kiss you back, I’ll go on our next hunt in my underwear.”

Blake snorted with laughter. “You seem awfully sure of that.”

“I am.”

Blake sighed. “I swear, if you’re wrong...”

Weiss smiled. “I’m not! Now go, before the sun gives you both migraines.”


	11. Chapter 11

Yang took a deep breath as she stepped outside into the fresh morning air. It seemed like months since she’d last felt the sun on her skin. Blake had told her of the sun’s adverse effects but Yang was willing to test her limits. Given that she was going to be travelling to Vale and back, she needed to know how much she could withstand. She couldn’t expect her men to travel only at night. That wasn’t fair.

Yang felt a spike of annoyance from back inside the manor and forcibly stopped herself from turning to look at the library window where she knew Blake was still sitting. The night had been awkward, to say the least. Previously, she and Blake had smiled at one another, even if they hadn’t exchanged any words. They’d lay on the long couch, feet entangled and for someone who hadn’t really enjoyed peace and quiet before, Yang had treasured every moment.

But the last few hours had been nothing like that. There had been silence, sure, but it was stifling and uncomfortable. It was as though Blake didn’t know how to behave around Yang after their moment before.

 _I guess I should take that as a glaring sign_ , Yang told herself as she set her shoulders and walked to the stalls where Blake had said the stonemason and Dustmason would be.

 _She said ‘come back to me’. That has to mean something, right?_ Yang’s brain wouldn’t let it go as much as she’d tried throughout the evening. She’d been stewing about it for hours, going over every interaction in her mind and trying to figure out if she’d misread everything.

_I’m a pretty good judge of character, though. And I read that moment. Awakening or not, I can’t have made this up in my head._

There was one question that plagued her and it was the main source of doubt that floated into every thought.

_Why didn’t she want me to kiss her?_

Yang had been so sure that she wasn’t imagining the attraction. Blake _reacted_ to her, viscerally. Considering that her Awakening had been over days ago, Yang was sure that what was happening between them now was because of _them_. Blake and Yang. It had nothing to do with their Immortality and everything to do with the fact that they were into one another.

And now Yang was so unsure about everything.

 _I need to work this energy off_ , Yang decided. She would never be getting any sleep and if she hoped to leave by sunset the following day, she would need to get as much rest as possible since she wasn’t sure how much she’d get on the journey.

“Captain?”

Yang snapped out of her thoughts and focused on the person in front of her. She smiled warmly. “Yes?”

“I heard that you’re going back to Vale,” the older woman asked. Yang could see burn scars on her hands and didn’t even need to ask where she’d worked to earn those.

“Yes, I am. But I’ll be back.”

The woman nodded. “That’s good news.” She paused again and Yang cocked her head curiously.

“Did you need me to find something for you? Or someone?”

The woman’s eyes quickly met hers and Yang could see the yearning and desperation.

_Whatever it is, I’m going to find it for this woman._

“My son helped me leave,” she said quietly. “We couldn’t tell anyone because my brother is in the Army and we were scared that he would stop us. His loyalties have always been swayed by duty.”

Yang nodded in understanding.

“I know that it’s a lot to ask but in our hurry to leave, I left behind two things that are most dear to me.”

“I will do what I can to find them and bring them back to you,” Yang vowed. “What is your name?”

“Penny.”

Yang smiled. “I knew a Penny once.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Yang waved her off. She glanced towards the tents where her men were staying but they were quite a distance away. She got an idea and decided to give it a shot. She shut her eyes and sent a mental summons to Geo. Yang had no idea whether her powers extended to humans or if telepathy was even a power she possessed but she had to find out what she could or couldn’t do somehow.

“Penny, you’ve been here for a while, haven’t you?” Yang asked. “I remember your name was one of the first on the missing list.”

Penny nodded. “After we lost my husband, things got really bad really quickly. My son tried to do what he could and he’s always had such a good heart. He wanted to do right by me and his sister.”

“Of course. I think you and your son are both very brave to have taken the risk to leave Vale.”

“Hey, Cap?”

Yang grinned at Geo. “Excellent. You’re here.”

“You…called me?”

“I did. Geo, this is Penny. Penny has some things that she would like us to retrieve during our stop in Vale. Please make a note of where she lived and what she would like us to get with as much detail as possible. And should anyone else ask, please take those details down as well.”

Geo nodded. “Aye, Cap.”

“I’m going to see the stone- and Dustmasons about our armour and ammunition.”

She stepped away from Penny and Geo and smiled to herself as she headed to the stonemason first.

_Well, Blake was right about one thing. I can be their leader. I can make things right for them._

* * *

It didn’t take Blake long to find Yang. Yang had already been to the stonemason and the Dustmason and arranged a trade for new armour and ammunition for their weapons.

 _She’s certainly organised_ , Blake mused as she left the centre of the settlement. She supposed that Yang wouldn’t have achieved the rank of Captain at her age if she wasn’t good at what she did.

Yang’s soldiers bowed respectfully to her as she walked passed and she nodded at them in return. The settlement was already bustling with activity as breakfast wrapped up in the households.

She walked away from the settlement and into the forest. Blake could tell that Yang was testing her abilities and she prepared herself for the spectacle. She’d been pretty intensely affected when she saw Yang and Weiss sparring and she had no doubt, given her state of mind, that it was going to be very difficult for her to curb her attraction.

Yang was breathtaking and beautiful and strong and intense and mesmerising.

And there she was.

Blake swallowed.

Yang was using the forest as an obstacle course. The trees were her running markers as she tested her speed. Blake was impressed with her movement. She could already see trees with imprints of Yang’s hands, feet and fists.

She knew that Yang would have already sensed her arrival, but she let her continue with her training, happy to observe for the time being.

Yang moved through her testing for another twenty minutes and didn’t seem to be tiring at all. Considering that the sun was already halfway up in the sky, Blake was mightily impressed. Since she’d had some good sleep of late, the sun had no effect on her whatsoever. Yang was testing how high she could jump, and Blake thought that Yang was probably jumping higher than Weiss could.

 _I bet she’d just love to hear that_. Blake smiled to herself.

They both sensed it at the same time. Yang landed easily turned to a large clump of bushes on the far side of the clearing in which she’d been training and Blake swallowed her nerves, staying put. If anything, it would be useful for Yang to test her abilities against something that could fight back without restraint.

_Although I’ve seen her fight Grimm as a human._

Yang didn’t have any weapons other than her natural abilities this time, so Blake leaned against a tree and waited. A Boarbatusk came running through the bushes, grunting wildly. He was a big one. Yang’s stance was perfect – not that Blake was surprised. She already knew that Yang could handle herself in a fight.

The Boarbatusk charged Yang, who grabbed the tusks with her bare hands and slid back on the ground, her bare feet digging into the ground as she forced it to stop. Yang let it go and did a backflip to get her bearings again. The Boarbatusk growled and started rolling. Yang leaped over it gracefully. The Boarbatusk went barrelling into a tree, knocking it over and Blake rolled her eyes. Yang ran to the fallen tree and broke off a large branch. No human would have been able to carry that thing. Yang danced with it like it weighed nothing when the branch was twice her size in length and about as thick as she was.

_I hope you know what you’re doing, Yang._

_I got this. Trust me._

Blake’s eyes went wide. She only knew of one other Immortal that had been able to communicate their thoughts to her non-verbally, and he’d been her Elder.

Yang dodged the Boarbatusk roll again and threw the branch after it. The branch spiked the ground, sending the Boarbatusk squealing into the air. Yang quickly broke off a sharp branch, moving at lightning speed as she jumped and stabbed the exposed underbelly of the Boarbatusk. The squeals died as the beast dissolved into nothing. Yang landed easily on her feet and grinned.

_Oh, Spirits._

Blake’s heart was pounding in her chest, and not because of the memories of Yang’s last fight with a Boarbatusk. Oh no. It was because she was _insanely_ turned on by Yang’s show of skill and strength.

_Maybe Weiss has a point…_

Blake let her feet carry her towards Yang who glanced at her as she neared.

“You seem to enjoy watching me fight Grimm instead of helping. I may just faint the day you step in to assist.”

Blake heard what Yang said but it didn’t really register. She had a singular focus.

Yang could clearly sense something was different because she stepped back, causing Blake to stop. “Whoa, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Blake said in exasperation.

Yang frowned. “Clearly something is. And whatever, you don’t want to tell me. I’m getting used to that feeling.”

As turned on as Blake was, Yang’s words pierced her heart and she gasped lightly.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Yang said, wincing. “That came out a lot more callous than I intended.”

Blake swallowed slowly. “I suppose I deserve that.”

Yang didn’t say anything and Blake cursed herself for being so stubborn and blind.

“Yang, I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“For what?” Yang asked, her tone curious but guarded. Blake couldn’t blame her.

“I’m sorry that my stubbornness and confusion has caused this awkwardness between us.”

Yang just looked at her for a few moments. “So I’m not imagining this…thing between us?”

Blake shook her head and bit her lip. “You’ll soon find out that I have perfected nonchalance, even though something may be affecting me quite profoundly. It was just me for so long so I had to learn how to protect myself not only physically but emotionally. I’ve been hurt far worse emotionally than physically in my life.”

Yang stepped closer and Blake’s heart felt a little lighter at the reduction in distance between them.

“Thank you for sharing that with me, Blake. I make no assumptions about your life, about things you’ve seen and done.” Yang swallowed. “I can tell that it hasn’t been easy and while I’m glad you found Weiss or she found you – however that happened – you have me now too, in whichever way you w-need me.”

Blake caught the slip. _But I do want you, Yang. Can’t you tell? Can’t you sense it all over me?_

“I’m sorry that I pushed you away,” Blake continued her apology. “I’m sorry that I keep sending you mixed signals. You…are incredible, Yang. Not just as an Immortal but as a _person_. You have the biggest heart I’ve ever seen. You have the respect of practically everyone here because you treat them as equals.”

“No one is better than me,” Yang murmured, looking down at her hand. “I’m nothing special.”

Blake took that hand and immediately felt her entire body heat up. “Yang, you _are_ special. It’s not a bad thing to be special. Being special doesn’t change who you are inside here.” Blake placed a palm against Yang’s chest and her eyes widened as she could feel the increase of Yang’s heartrate.

_Oh…_

Yang stepped even closer, putting a hand over Blake’s and holding it to her chest.

“I…um…” Nine hundred years of languages were lost to Blake as she looked up at Yang and let herself be completely sucked into that gaze.

She didn’t want to look away. She didn’t want to break it. Not that time. She wanted – _needed­_ – Yang to know that she wasn’t going to run away. Not anymore.

“Blake, is there something you want to say?” Yang prodded.

“There is a lot that I want to say, Yang, and I’m very aware of time slipping away from us,” Blake murmured in reply.

“I’m coming back,” Yang said firmly, and the determination in her gaze made Blake believe that she would do everything in her power to come back. And given that Yang’s power was growing daily, she did believe that their separation would be a temporary one.

“Is…that why you pulled away earlier?” Yang asked quietly.

“I do need to explain a few things, Yang, but I’d like to do something else first, if I may?”

“Sure.” Yang said it so easily, like it was so simple.

_Maybe it is. Maybe it is that simple._

Blake could hear Weiss in her head, telling her not to overthink things.

_Don’t think. Just feel._

She took a final step forward, trapping her and Yang’s hands between them. Yang’s eyes never left hers and although Blake was nervous, she knew that what she was about to do felt like the right thing.

“May I kiss you, Yang?” she whispered.

“You never need to ask me that, Blake,” Yang replied with a smile. “The answer will always be yes.”

Blake felt a rush a happiness flood through her as she leaned in, trying not to appear too eager. Yang didn’t seem to mind that because she moved her hands to Blake’s waist, her fingers tracing the material of Blake’s loose shirt.

Blake kept her hand on Yang’s chest, revelling in the vibrations she could feel through her fingers. She had always been able to detect a lot about the body with her abilities but _feeling_ Yang’s heartbeat opened up an entirely new way to feel.

“I’m right here,” Yang whispered, mere millimetres from her lips. “I’m yours, Blake. Take what is yours.”

Blake took the very obvious invitation and pressed her lips to Yang’s. She felt Yang’s fingers dig into her skin and she shivered. She had imagined what it would be like to kiss Yang too often in the last few days, even though she had immediately wiped the thought from her mind.

Nothing in her imagination could have prepared her for how perfect it felt. Yang’s lips were gentle against her own and Blake could sense how Yang’s body was humming, much like hers.

_I’ve never felt anything like this._

Blake pulled back for a moment, taking a quiet gasp.

“Wow,” Yang whispered. “That was…”

“Yeah…”

“That was way better than I imagined it,” Yang said with a grin. She lifted her hands from Blake’s waist to her face and cradled it as she leaned in and sucked lightly on Blake’s bottom lip. The moan that escaped Blake surprised them both. Yang pulled back and the look in her darkened eyes made Blake physically tremble.

_I want you so badly._

Blake blinked at Yang’s voice in her head. Right, they needed to deal with that new piece of information too.

“Yang, I want you too, believe me. But there are things I need to tell you, things you need to know about me before we…go any further.”

“Okay,” Yang replied with a grin, leaning in for one more kiss. “Should we head back to the house? It’s getting late.”

Blake nodded and had to convince her brain to step away from Yang.

_Spirits, if this is what I’m like after one kiss, I don’t know how I’m going to cope when she leaves tomorrow._

The way Yang looked at her told Blake that she may have heard or felt what she was thinking. Rather than pressing it, Yang jerked her thumb towards the fallen tree from her tussle with the Boarbatusk.

“I’m gonna grab that and take it back to the village. The carpenters could probably use it, right?”

Blake nodded and forced a smile.

“Hey.” Yang quickly stepped up to Blake. “I know we’re gonna talk about things and I know that it sucks that I’m leaving tomorrow when we’ve just discovered this.” Yang took Blake’s hand. “Whenever you feel afraid, and I know that you do so don’t play tough with me, just remember that _this_ beats for you and because of you.”

Yang placed Blake’s hand against her chest and she felt that warmth run through her again.

_It beats for you and because of you._

Blake looked at Yang as her words echoed in her head. They held their stare for a few more moments before Yang squeezed Blake’s hand and let it slowly drop. She walked backwards towards the fallen tree and Blake leered unashamedly as Yang punched the large tree in certain places, causing it to split. She balanced the pieces easily and sent Blake a wink. Blake couldn’t help the blush that spread across her cheeks.

She just hoped that Yang would still look at her that way after she told her about the things she’d done.

* * *

“Spirits!” Blake gasped, rolling away from Yang’s addictive lips.

“No, come back,” Yang whined, grabbing after her.

Blake rolled off the bed and shook herself. She needed to keep better control.

 _Control is overrated_ , Yang said in her head.

“Control is necessary in this instance,” Blake replied, refusing to meet Yang’s eyes. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” Yang asked sweetly.

“Like you’d do anything for me.”

“I would, though.”

Blake sighed and closed her eyes. “Yang, I’m being serious.”

“So am I.”

There was nothing but sincerity in Yang’s voice and it made Blake even more fearful of her reaction.

“Blake.” Yang’s voice was suddenly a _lot_ closer. Her eyes flew open and saw Yang standing right in front of her. “You can tell me anything that you feel comfortable telling me, even if you don’t think I’ll like what you have to say. I know you probably have more than a few skeletons in your closet and I know that you’ve lost people dear to you. And while I don’t know any details, I’m still here. I’m still yours. I’m not even sure that there is anything in this world that could change that.”

“But that kind of devotion is so dangerous, Yang,” Blake pleaded. “Please don’t put me on a pedestal. I’m afraid I’ll simply disappoint you.”

Yang stepped back and took Blake’s hand. “I’ll keep an open mind about whatever you have to say, okay? And you’ll let me decide who deserves my devotion.”

_She’s definitely still her own person._

Yang wrinkled her nose playfully and Blake huffed in annoyance that she’d caught that thought too. One thing she could practise while Yang was away was guarding her mind. Until Yang knew everything, she didn’t think it would be wise for her to have free access to her thoughts.

She let Yang pull her back to the bed and she sat back against the pillows. Yang lay next her, not letting go of her hand.

“Take your time, Blake.”

Blake closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Before Weiss, there was someone else that I Saved. He was a young soldier who had been tasked with delivering a message. He ran into a group of bandits who left him for dead. I happened to be…hunting at the time and sensed him nearby. He was moments away from death so I acted quickly.”

If Yang had questions about anything she was saying, she kept them to herself, merely looking at Blake with a calm attentiveness that gave Blake a rush of affection.

“He slept for about three days before he Awoke. The first Awakening was tough. He was angry, aggressive and confused. He wrestled against his instincts to run and his desire to stay with me.” Blake swallowed. “He…didn’t care to hide his attraction to me.”

“Were you attracted to him?” Yang asked.

Blake bit her lip. “In the spirit of full disclosure, no. Not initially. I could tell he had a good heart which was the reason I Saved him. That’s the main factor whenever I decide to Save someone. Um…I had been on my own for roughly thirty years after escaping Atlas. Other than random people I happened to interact with, it was just me. Seeing Sun’s reaction to me made me feel wanted. It made me feel less lonely.”

Yang nodded her understanding. “I get that,” she murmured.

“While attraction and arousal is fairly normal during the Awakening process, it’s highly discouraged to act upon it because it influences the connection.”

Yang hummed and Blake was relieved that so far, she seemed to be taking everything very…logically.

“I managed to hold off the first Awakening. It lasted a week, which was longer than any other first Awakening I’d had. Sun needed to be constantly supervised as we were out in the middle of the forest. There was too much around us for him to be distracted by. He had no idea of his own abilities yet. He was still delirious and focused intensely on me.

“When his first Awakening ended and he fell unconscious, I tried to sleep too. I was exhausted. I’d been awake for a week with little to no sleep after Saving someone. My energy was dangerously low. I figured that I had at least two days so I managed to get some sleep before Sun Awoke for the second time.”

“Are those time frames more the expected time frames for Awakenings?” Yang asked.

Blake looked at her and nodded.

“Ah, that would explain your surprise at my recovery time.”

Blake smiled and kissed Yang’s hand that had remained in hers. “That’s only because you’re remarkable.”

Yang grinned. “Keep going.”

With a laugh, Blake shoved Yang gently. “Your ego certainly doesn’t need the elevation.”

Yang clutched her chest. “Well, I never. Lady Belladonna, I swear that I am as humble as they come.”

Blake leaned in suddenly and pressed her lips against Yang’s, momentarily giving into the constant temptation. “I know you are,” she whispered, pulling away.

Yang looked delightfully dazed and Blake revelled in knowing that she had the same effect on Yang as Yang had on her.

“Uh…I…um…”

Blake smiled and settled back against her pillows, waiting for Yang to return to their previous conversation. Yang shook her head lightly and focused on Blake.

“When Sun Awoke, I was feeling better but he was very affectionate. While I do have a connection with anyone I Save, I knew that what he was feeling was way more intense than what I was feeling. But…” Blake looked down in shame.

“Hey, whatever happened is in the past, Blake,” Yang said quietly. “Having been on his side of things, I can vouch for the intensity of that connection.”

“I don’t think we can compare what we have to that, Yang. It wasn’t the same.”

“No,” Yang agreed. “But the circumstances were totally different.”

“I should never have given into him,” Blake whispered.

“It’s okay that you did, Blake. We’re Immortal but we still breathe, sleep, eat, drink, love…”

“No, Yang, it’s not okay that I did that. There’s a very good reason that Elders should never give in during the Awakening.”

“Oh. What happened?” Yang asked, her tone curious and a little guarded.

“Intimacy during the Awakening distorts the connection into something far more intense than it should be.” Blake sighed, her tone laced with regret. “He became obsessed. After the Awakening, he refused to leave my side. His aggression became too much. He would attack anything and everything that he perceived to be a threat. He once slaughtered a herd of deer because he thought that one of them looked at me an odd way.”

“Given that you didn’t know who he was before you Saved him, is there a possibility that this darkness existed in him and becoming Immortal exacerbated it?” Yang asked.

Blake nodded. “I did consider that. My judgement of who to Save is primarily based on knowing whether the person has a good heart, which I’ve already mentioned. It’s something that I pride myself on. I’m never wrong. Every single person I’ve Saved has been a good person. I corrupted Sun.”

“Blake…”

“Yang, I did! There’s no other way to explain it! I gave into him and he…I…”

Yang shuffled closer when Blake choked on her words. “Blake, did you kill him?”

Tears that Blake hadn’t realised were gathering in her eyes starting streaming down her face as she nodded quickly. “He l-looked at me, Yang. He looked at me like I’d betrayed him. And I _had_.”

Yang wasted no time in pulling Blake into her arms. For the first time in sixty years, Blake let herself feel everything that she’d kept contained since that day. She sobbed loudly, soaking Yang’s shirt with her tears. While Weiss knew about what had happened, Blake hadn’t let her guard down like she did with Yang.

After a long while, Blake ran out of tears but felt absolutely drained. Yang had shifted onto her back with Blake laying on top of her, fighting the exhaustion that wracked her body.

She felt Yang press her lips against her hair. “Sleep, Blake. We have all the time in the world.”

Blake settled against Yang’s body and quickly fell asleep to the tune of Yang’s steady heartbeat.

* * *

Yang did a final check of Bumblebee before stepping back and glancing at her men. They were all packed and ready to go. Yang felt a sharp pull towards the manor and she glanced up at the top right window, knowing Blake was looking down at her.

While she understood why Blake didn’t want to come down and say goodbye publicly, it didn’t make leaving the bedroom any easier to leave for Yang. Apart from her joining her men for breakfast and checking that all the supplies and ammo were ready for their departure that evening, all Yang’s time was spent with Blake. Most of it was Blake telling her stories about her life, which Yang was only too happy to hear. After the emotional confession about Sun, Yang took every opportunity to remind Blake with non-verbal cues that she still wanted her, that her feelings hadn’t changed. She could tell that Blake appreciated it.

 _I miss you already_ , Yang said in her mind, her eyes never leaving the window.

 _Just come back to me_ , came the instant reply.

_You bet your sweet Immortal ass I will._

She could feel the smile on Blake’s face and that was enough to spur her into action. While she and Blake had a lot to figure out about their telepathy and their relationship, Yang knew that she had to complete her mission. There was no way she’d be able to lose herself in Blake completely without knowing that Ruby was safe.

“Captain!”

Yang glanced down and smiled at Elijah. “Good evening, Private. Looking sparkly clean, I see. You’re following those orders very well.”

“Thank you, sir!” Elijah said with a salute. He glanced at the horses. “A-Are you coming back?”

“As soon as I finish my business in Vale, I’ll be back,” Yang said confidently.

“Okay, good.”

Yang chuckled. “Now, I expect that you’ll be keeping an eye out along with Master Jaune over there. I hear he’s quite adept at protecting the perimeter.”

Jaune flushed red and almost tripped over his own two feet as he stood in one place. The woman next to him, Pyrrha Nikos, stepped forward.

“Captain, I managed to finish this just in time for your departure.” She held out a familiar looking piece of brown leather.

“How…?” Yang murmured, reaching out.

“It did need a great deal of work but Lady Belladonna insisted that no expense be spared,” Pyrrha said with a warm smile.

Yang looked back at the window and felt a firm tug in her chest. “When did Lady Belladonna give this to you?” she asked quietly.

Pyrrha cocked her head in thought. “I would say perhaps three days after you and your men arrived?”

_Dammit, Blake. Now I have to kiss you again._

_Yang-_

Yang didn’t wait for a response in her mind. “Thank you, Pyrrha,” she said. “This means more than you know.” She turned to Jack. “Start heading out. Due north. Keep at a canter. I’ll meet up with you.”

Jack smirked. “Aye, Cap.”

Yang turned and ran back to the manor, her movements becoming a blur in her urgency to get to Blake as soon as possible. She skidded to a halt as the front door opened and there stood the object of all her affections.

“You are so amazing,” Yang whispered, walking up to Blake and kissing her soundly. She broke apart and Blake gasped. “You’re making it very difficult for me to walk away from you.”

Blake stroked her face and smiled. “I’m sorry if I made it worse. I could tell how much it meant to you and I wanted you to have it when you went back.”

Yang kissed her again. “Will we be able to keep in contact when I’m in Vale?” she whispered.

“I’m not sure. The furthest I’ve tested it was on Menagerie, which is considerably smaller than Sanus,” Blake replied, her hands stroking Yang’s back.

“Spirits, this is going to be the quickest search and rescue mission ever,” Yang said determinedly. “And when I come back, Lady Belladonna, you and I are going to be spending a _lot_ of one-on-one quality time together.”

Blake flushed but smiled. “I can’t wait.”

“Yeah?” Yang grinned.

“Hurry back,” Blake whispered, leaning in for a final kiss.

Yang let her tongue trace Blake’s bottom lip, causing them both to shiver. Savouring the closeness for a few more moments, Yang pressed a light kiss to Blake’s forehead before turning around and walking purposefully back to where Bumblebee was waiting impatiently for her. She shook out the garment in her hands and swung her long coat around her, slipping her arms in as she had done a thousand times before. The material had been replaced with different strips, giving her a multi-layered look. Yang really liked the difference. It was a final rebellion against the Army she had given so much to.

Yang glanced up to the stars pointing her northwards. “I’m coming, Ruby,” she whispered.


End file.
